Reach Your Limits
by juman1994
Summary: Tsunade is dying and Jiraya decided to end Akatsuki quickly with the help of Kakashi. One catch: Kakashi needs to get a new master. Will Kakashi survive his training? Rated K for safety. Pre Kakazu and Hidan Fight
1. Chapter 1

Before Kakazu and Hidan Fight

"Tsunade are you sure?" Jiraya asked for the tenth time

"Yes Jiraya" Tsunade answered beginning to lose her patience

"I can't believe it" Jiraya muttered and sat next to his teammate "Can't you cure it or something?"

"I might be able to make myself look younger but I'm still getting older" she told him "My body is finally giving up"

"I see" Jiraya stood up and looked outside the window and started down on Konoha

"We need a sixth Hokage" Tsunade said after a long silence

"Hmm" Jiraya nodded

"Any ideas?" Tsunade said

"Before we get a Hokage we need to end the rath of the Akatsuki" Jiraya answered instead

"We can't do it that quickly" Tsunade said "Maybe you can kill most of them with some difficulty but you need some help and I'm in no condition to help you"

"Which is why I'm thinking of getting help from Akio" Jiraya mumbled

"Akio?" Tsunade said "That man is a retired ninja" she said remembering the man that used to help them in the worst of times. However she knows now that since he got married to a medic he no longer wants to continue life as a ninja even though he trains to stay in shape. But he remains to be rusty.

"He might be out of practice" Jiraya said as if he read Tsuande's mind "But even with that he is still as strong as me if not stronger"

"But how will you convince him to fight with you?" Tsunade asked

"No that's impossible" Jiraya said

"Now I'm confused" Tsunade turned to face Jiraya

"I'm going to ask him to train Kakashi" Jiraya informed her

"Akio never trains anybody unless he is his master and he never found anybody worthy" Tsunade said. "Arrogant idiot" she added as an after thought

"Maybe he'll find Kakashi worthy to take on as a student" Jiraya contemplated

"Two things" Tsunade said "What makes you think Kakashi will agree to become that psycho's student? That guy could've easily passed as the strongest ninja in the five nations, how'll you get him to take Kakashi?"

"Kakashi will do it if it means saving Konoha and Naruto. As for convincing Akio, I'll let Kakashi stay with him for a week or so, hopefully Akio will…" Jiraya stopped to find the right words

"Get close to Kakashi" Tsunade yelled "That's not how it works"

"Sure it is" Jiraya stubbornly said "You meet a kid you like and you teach him your ways"

"It's worth a shot but what about Naruto?" she asked

"I'll train him once I take Kakashi to Akio" Jiraya answered

"Alright good luck" Tsunade agreed

"I guess I have to go find the brat now" Jiraya sighed and poofed away

* * *

Kakashi was currently sitting under a tree watching Naruto trying to cut a waterfall in half. He knew that if Naruto developed the Rasengan he could become stronger than himself.

"Kage Bunshin Jutsu" Naruto yelled as more Naruto emerged.

"Even with Kage bunshins it still needs time" Kakashi sighed "But compared to the time it takes without it this is rather impressive"

"Easy for you to say" Tenzou (Yamato is his fake name for those who don't remember both names) muttered "I'm the one trying to keep the Kyyubi at bay"

Kakashi chuckled "Want a break?"

"Maybe later I can hold on for now" Tenzou smiled

Meanwhile Jiraya was searching for Kakashi and was heading for the training area. He heard that Kakashi was training Naruto with Tenzou at Training area 17.

Finally arriving he took in the scene. A couple of Naruto clones were standing on a bridge of wood trying to cut it in half. He guessed Kakashi was teaching him nature manipulation. Tenzou was attempting to keep the fox from emerging while Kakashi just stood there staring at Naruto.

"Are you going to keep standing here or do you want something" Kakashi said as he turned to face Jiraya "Jiraya sama?"

Naruto heard his master's name and stopped temporarily to look at his mentor. He was happy to see him again and jumped down much to the relief of Tenzou who sighed in liberation.

"Pervy sage!" Naruto yelled waving his hand frantically

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" Jiraya asked annoyed

"Lost count" Naruto smiled sheepishly "Hey! What are you doing here anyway?"

"I need to talk to Kakashi" Jiraya said. Kakashi raised an eyebrow but showed no further reaction.

"Why?" Naruto whined "He's training me can't it wait"

Jiraya sighed mentally "I'm going to take Kakashi for a while" he announced

"What?" Kakashi asked this time. Naruto currently realized that even Kakashi had no idea what was going on.

"Come with me" he beckoned Kakashi to follow him "I need to take to you in private"

Kakashi hesitated at first but followed him none the less leaving a fuming Naruto behind complaining about his training being cut off because of the pervy sage.

Once Jiraya was good distance away from Tenzou and Naruto he addressed Kakashi "I'm going to be blunt, we are all in serious danger"

"Aren't we always" Kakashi answered

"Keep your witty remarks to yourself for now" Jiraya ordered "Akatsuki are getting stronger and we need to stop them as soon as possible"

"Which is why I'm training Naruto" Kakashi pointed out

"You got the right idea but you're going about it the wrong way" Jiraya said

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked confused

"I need you to train" Jiraya said

"But what about Naruto?" Kakashi retorted "He needs this training now more than ever"

"I know which is why I will continue what you started" Jiraya said

"I know more about nature manipulation than you" Kakashi muttered "Besides I'm not as important as Naruto right now"

"I know a good deal about nature manipulation brat" Jiraya glared at Kakashi "And secondly I need somebody to help me take down the Akatsuki"

"And you're saying you want me to help?" Kakashi asked in disbelief "I'll just slow you down I can barely take on Itachi on a one on one battle"

"Which is why I want you to train" Jiraya said

"I don't know" Kakashi muttered

"I have this great guy who might be willing to teach you" Jiraya explained

"Might?" Kakashi asked

"And there is a condition" Jiraya continued

"I don't like where this is going" Kakashi folded his arms together

"If he does consider training you, which is an honor by the way, he'll become your master" Jiraya said

"WHAT?" Kakashi yelled. He never loses his cool but this is ridiculous.

"I'm sure you heard of him. His name is Akio" Jiraya notified

"I thought that he was legend" Kakashi said regaining his patience

"He's very real. He's actually an old friend of mine" Jiraya supplied

"And is this friend" Kakashi said stressing on the word friend "willing to train me?"

"He doesn't know yet but you and I are going there and we'll see how it develops" Jiraya concluded

"What if we end up wasting time on something that might happen instead of training Naruto?" Kakashi asked

"You know for a genius you really are dumb" Jiraya cursed

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the comment but didn't comment further

"I can take some of the Akatsuki member by myself but some might require some teamwork" Jiraya explained "You are the only one that might actually have a chance of helping me more than being a burden"

Kakashi glared at Jiraya again at the mention of being a burden

"Can you at least try?" Jiraya said

"A new master?" Kakashi whispered

"Actually a master in general, Minato was more of a sensei" Jiraya stated

"I guess I could try" Kakashi said reluctantly "For Naruto and Konoha's sake"

"That's just what I wanted to hear" Jiraya smiled like a maniac

They began walking back. Kakashi was silent mulling over his thoughts.

"Can we go back to training now?" Naruto shouted

"Actually you're going to finish things up here with Tenzou while I go on a small journey with your sensei" Jiraya smiled

Tenzou noticed that Kakashi wasn't excited at all. For a second Tenzou thought he saw concern in his senpai's eye but it was gone the next moment

"What!" Naruto shouted pointing a finger at Kakashi "You promised"

"It's sort of out of my hand" Kakashi tried to explain

"I doubt it" Naruto muttered

"It's my doing not Kakashi's" Jiraya said hitting Naruto on the back of his head. "Meet me tomorrow at the village gate at seven"

"Hai" Kakashi nodded and then Jiraya disappeared

"Everything alright?" Tenzou asked

"Ya everything is fine other than the occasional danger" Kakashi gave a fake smile

"It's not fair. I need to become stronger" Naruto fumed

Kakashi decided to give Naruto a pep talk before he leaves. It's the least he can do after leaving in such short notice

"Naruto" Kakashi said waiting for Naruto to pay attention "Even while I'm gone I expect you to listen to Tenzou and to train hard. If I come back and you haven't improved it won't be pretty on your behalf. Besides" he smiled here "How are going to become Hokage if you can't train without me for a while"

"You can count on me sensei I won't fail you" Naruto gave a thumbs up after going over his sensei's words

Kakashi was relieved that his blonde student was going to be ok

"Good luck Ten.. Yamato" Kakashi smiled. Luckily Naruto didn't pick up his real name since he was too busy getting pumped up.

"You're cruel you know that don't you?" Tenzou glowered

Kakashi chuckled "I leave him in your hands" and with that he poofed away.


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is going to be a bit boring but you have to go through the boring stuff to move forward.**

Kakashi POV

I can't believe I agreed to do this. What was I thinking, a new master? I'm dishonoring sensei's honor, aren't I? Jiraya did say Minato sensei was only my sensei but still.

Kakashi thoughts kept repeating themselves as he sat down on his roof. I should start packing it's already 6:00 PM.

Normal POV

Kakashi jumped down on his balcony and walked to his closet throwing various clothing in a bag. Jiraya didn't specify a time so I should get a little over a week's worth of clothes. He told me to mainly get training clothes.

Kakashi dumped his three sets of training clothes two of which were the simple attire a ninja wears under the jounin vest while the other was a pair of black shorts and a lose grey T-shirt with a symbol of Konoha in the back.

He no longer wears that set because it looks weird with his tight mask but his senses told him to get it just in case.

After that he went into the bathroom and got his toothbrush only guessing that wherever he was going would be able to supply shampoo, shaving cream, and tooth paste. There was no need for food except for the road which Jiraya informed him to be about five hours. SO no need at all in fact.

Kakashi mostly packed his weapons. In the end he ended up with scrolls, kunai, shuriken big and small, two swords he used when in ANBU and his father's old katana. He knew it was useless since it broke years ago and it was only unnecessary baggage currently but he couldn't leave it behind.

Jiraya made sure to continuously remind Kakashi to leave the Icha Icha books behind so he can focus on his training a hundred percent. Kakashi dreaded the idea of parting his books but he was obliged to as much as he hated it.

Kakashi was about to sleep when he noticed he forgot to pack the two pictures of team 7 (old and new) above his bed. He held both frames in his hand and stared at them for a while.

Kakashi POV

It's funny how similar both teams are. There was the laid back sensei, the medic, the stoic emo and the joker. I miss my old team a lot and I miss the days when team7 used to hang out with no worries. Now I have a rogue Uchiha starving for revenge, and an S-ranked organization trying to kill Naruto.

He removed the pictures from there frame and stuck them inside his journal. The last time I wrote in my journal was after I quit ANBU. Maybe It's time to write again to keep me sane while I'm wherever Jiraya is taking me. It helped remind me that I'm human in my ANBU days and I'm sure it'll come in handy soon.

I guess I should sleep now since there's nothing left to do. Kakashi huddled in his covers and lulled himself to sleep with his thoughts.

* * *

"It's already 5:00 am" Kakashi mentally groaned as he sat up rubbing his sleepy eyes.

He went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to find that he needed to go grocery shopping after he comes back. The only thing in there was jam, a milk cartoon, some vegetables and two eggs.

He decided to make an egg omelet with vegetables. As he was cooking the eggs he remembered the time when Rin taught him how to cook it.

"_Kakashi you're way too thin. Do you eat well?" a concerned Rin asked him as she was healing a wound on his back_

"_Breakfast lunch and dinner" he replied automatically_

"_What do you eat for each meal?" she asked_

_Kakashi not feeling like arguing about useless things decided to humor her and answer the question. "I eat an apple at breakfast, go to get ramen and sometimes barbeque if I'm lucky with sensei and at dinner I have milk with cereal"_

"_An apple is hardly breakfast" she scolded _

"_An apple a day keeps the doctor away" he retorted "And you know how much I hate hospitals and doctors"_

_Rin's good eye twitched and she felt like hitting him on the head but she couldn't bear hitting her crush no matter how annoying he can get sometimes._

"_Why don't you try making an egg omelet once or twice" she chided him_

"_I don't feel like having my house burn down" he said indifferently_

"_You don't know how to cook?" she asked in disbelief_

"_I know how to make soup" he said annoyed at her contradiction _

"_I'll teach you so you can have a healthy life style" she smiled happy she was going to spend some extra time with Kakashi_

_Kakashi was torn between his pride of learning something from a genin and his yearning for a better breakfast. Having a better breakfast won and he spending time with Rin every now and then learning how to cook various meals._

After finishing his omelet and getting dressed he realized that he only has one hour to meet Jiraya at the gate and decided to go to the memorial stone one more time before he leaves.

Without a second thought he took his bag, locked his door and poofed to the stone.

Obito. Rin. Sensei. I won't come visit you for some time. I'm going to go get a new master and become a stronger ninja so I can help Jiraya defeat Akatsuki and save Naruto. You must be jealous huh crybaby.

After thirty minutes of talking to the inanimate object Jiraya came and snapped Kakashi out of his thoughts.

"I thought you'd be late if I didn't come and get you to the gate personally" Jiraya smirked

"That's not fair" Kakashi muttered "I was going to leave in twenty minutes."

"Sure you were" Jiraya said not believing the silver haired idiot

"Let's just go then" Kakashi sighed and jumped away "You coming?"

"I'll catch up in a minute" Jiraya replied

Kakashi simply shrugged and leapt away

"Don't worry Minato" Jiraya smiled "I'll make sure both your sons are safe in the end" and then Jiraya followed Kakashi to the gate.

Once they got there Tsunade was waiting for them at the gate.

"Are you ready?" Tsunade asked Kakashi ignoring Jiraya for the time being.

"Ready as I'll ever be" he replied

"Don't piss that guy off, Kakashi" she warned him "He isn't really a patient man"

"Just do as he says, don't complain and always be on time" Jiraya commented stressing the last part

"I'm not an idiot" Kakashi muttered "I'll behave"

"I seriously doubt that" Jiraya sighed. Kakashi glared at Jiraya noticing that it he was becoming accustomed to hate Jiraya at times.

Tsunade rubbed her forehead in dismay "Just don't get into trouble and come back safe alright?"

"Don't worry about me I'll be fine" Kakashi said "I'm not a child you know"

"Sometimes you behave like one" Jiraya thought but decided not to piss Kakashi of any further

"Good luck" Tsunade ended as Jiraya patted Kakashi on the back

"Let's go" he said

Kakashi nodded and they both dashed away


	3. Chapter 3

"How much further? You specifically said five hours" Kakashi complained his stomach growling in protest

"I made a few miscalculations no need to worry" Jiraya answered

"Three hours extra isn't a miscalculation" Kakashi snipped

"Stop whining brat" Jiraya said "Here have an apple".

Kakashi inspected it carefully then ate it. It wasn't exactly pleasing but it was better than nothing. At least Jiraya doesn't try to see his face like everybody else.

"We're here" Jiraya announced as they stood on top of a hill overlooking a huge mansion.

The mansion was four stories high, in front of the mansion was a beautiful garden surrounded by hot springs and a pool right in the middle were a woman was currently swimming. Jiraya's eyes were transfixed on her while Kakashi continued staring at the grounds.

At the back of the house there was a couple of training grounds each built for a specific purpose. Some had a rocky terrain while others were simply a vast open area, some were similar to a forest and there was even one that was built as a city.

All in all Kakashi was impressed. Jiraya, however, was only impressed in the lady in the pool. Kakashi wanted to smack him on the head but somebody beat him to it.

"Stop staring at my wife, Jiraya" he glared dangerously

Jiraya laughed nervously. The man was taller than Jiraya by a few inches and was towering over Kakashi. He had short dark brown hair that was a bit messy. He was wielding two swords and was in full black attire as if he was on a mission.

"Shall we go inside" the man gestured towards the house

"Or we could sit by the pool, Akio" Jiraya suggested

"If you weren't my friend Jiraya I would've killed you by now" the man threatened seriously and led them towards the front door. Kakashi was completely ignored for the time being.

"Is this the kid you want me to train?" Akio asked as he inspected Kakashi from head to toe

"This is the one" Jiraya nodded serious at last "His name is Hatake Kakashi"

"Nice to meet you" Kakashi said although angry at being referred to as a kid

"Interesting" Akio continued staring at Kakashi like a hawk.

Kakashi resisted the urge to shudder as he looked at Akio's eyes. After three minutes Kakashi got fed up, how long was this guy going to freak him out.

"Jiraya" Akio said still starring at Kakashi "Can I talk to you in private?"

Kakashi mentally gulped, he never felt this intimidated by a long shot since he was a kid. Is this man even human?

"Sure, Kakashi, why don't you find a tree and wait for a while?" Jiraya said

Kakashi glad to escape Akio's gaze jumped off immediately without complaining

"I have to say you're the only that can get Kakashi to obey without question" Jiraya chucked as they sat down

"Does he always disobey?" Akio asked

"No he doesn't" Jiraya smiled "He just has times where he decides to not follow my instructions, contradict them and he's always late"

"Don't worry I can handle anybody" Akio said "If I take him as a student that is"

"I thought we'd hit this snag" Jiraya nodded

"You know me too well" Akio laughed. If Kakashi were here he would be surprised at how friendly the man could be with his own friends.

"How about you take him for a week and decide then?" Jiraya asked

"I guess that would be fine" Akio nodded "May I ask why you would require him to train?"

"I'm sure you've heard of the Akatsuki" Jiraya began as Akio nodded "They're interested in capturing all the byuji and as you also know Konoha has its own jinchuriki"

"Your student's son as I recall" Akio noted

"He is also Kakashi's student currently" Jiraya added

"Interesting" Akio responded

"Other than the danger on Naruto if Akatsuki gain their hands on all the byuji life as we know it will be destroyed" Jiraya said "Which is why I need to stop them as soon as possible and for that I need a partner"

"And you believe Kakashi is worthy?" Akio asked

"After your help of course" Jiraya nodded

"And if I refuse to train him?" Akio asked

"Then I hope you'll fill in" Jiraya answered without skipping a beat

Akio was silent for a while and mused things over. After five minutes of complete silence Akio finally replied

"I think I'll…

* * *

Meanwhile Kakashi was sitting under a tree just like Jiraya suggested staring at the clouds feeling more like Shikamaru than himself. However it wasn't his fault Jiraya forbade him from getting his books.

"You seem relaxed" the lady that was previously swimming in the pool told him

"Better enjoy it while I can" Kakashi answered

She laughed "Yes my husband can be quite a serious man"

Now that Kakashi got a good look at her he realized that her hair was a very light brown and her green eyes were full of life. She looked to be older than himself by a handful of years.

"And you are…?" she asked

"Hatake Kakashi" he introduced himself

"My husband told me you might be coming and you must be hungry right?" she asked

Before Kakashi could answer his stomach growled

She laughed "We're having lunch in two hours, do you like barbeque?"

"That's sounds great" he smiled

"Let me go get you something while you wait till then" she smiled and the minute she said that a butler appeared as if he were a ninja

"Your request, Izumi sama" he asked politely

"Can you get a light snack for our guest?" she asked

"Anything else?" he asked

"No that would be all" she smiled

"As you wish" he nodded and poofed away

"Are all your butlers ninja?" asked Kakashi

"Akio is very protective" she smiled

"Your prince in armor?" Kakashi asked

"I guess" she chuckled "His name does mean hero"

"Is that his real name?" Kakashi asked

She laughed but managed to nod a yes

"Your snack" the butler came back and handed Kakashi a slice of fruitcake

"Thanks" Kakashi smiled and the butler disappeared

"I made it myself you know" Izumi smiled

"Now I know I can't resist" Kakashi chuckled as he pulled won his mask and ate it in a second grateful that Izumi had the courtesy to turn around

"Wow you were hungry" she smiled warmly

"Thank Jiraya for miscalculating the time it would require to come here" Kakashi replied

"Typical of that man" she laughed "Anyway I have to go"

"It was nice talking to you Izumi sama" Kakashi bowed slightly

"Don't be formal around me I hate it" she beckoned him to stand "Just Izumi is fine"

Kakashi nodded in acceptance

"I think I like you" she laughed and walked back into the house

"At least somebody is cheerful" Kakashi thought thinking about Akio again as he sat back down his stomach satisfied

* * *

"I think I'll wait and see whether I take Kakashi in or not" Akio replied "If I do agree to train him he'll be strong enough to help you, if not then I'll join you myself"

"I can't thank you enough" Jiraya nodded thankful that he'll have help no matter the outcome

"But I must warn you I can be very picky in choosing my students" he said

"You never picked a student" Jiraya corrected

"A sign that Kakashi might not make that list as well" Akio stated

"Then I guess we have no time to lose" Jiraya smiled and they left to find Kakashi.


	4. Chapter 4

"Enjoying yourself?" Jiraya asked as he spotted Kakashi snoozing under a tree.

"Would've more if you allowed me to get a book" Kakashi muttered as he stood up.

"Why did you prevent him from getting a book Jiraya?" Aki asked not seeing a valid reason to.

"Did you ever read my books?" Jiraya asked Akio

"I'm not a pervert" Akio glared at him but got the message. Apparently Kakashi is a pervert who enjoys Jiraya's books a tad too much. Not a good start for the kid at all, having one pervert around was more than enough.

"Anyway" Jiraya said "I'm going to be leaving, brat, so you listen to Akio" he warned

"Sure" Kakashi grumbled. He still thinks I'm a child. He may be ancient but I'm not young anymore.

"Send me a letter in a week and tell me how you are progressing" Jiraya ordered him

"Whatever you say" Kakashi answered.

Akio was currently staring at Kakashi gathering as much as he could about his personality through the conversation. For where he stood, Kakashi appeared to be laid back and lazy, qualities he doesn't enjoy in a student, nevertheless person.

"See ya" Jiraya said his last goodbye and jumped away

"Inside" Akio ordered Kakashi as he pointed towards

"_The torture beings now_" Kakashi thought to himself as he followed him to the house

"I have a few rules" Akio began "First, tardiness will NOT be tolerated"

"_I guess I fail from now_" Kakashi groaned mentally

"Second, You will do what I say whenever I say it" Akio continued as he led Kakashi through many hallways.

"Third, Complain and I'll personally beat you up" Akio was nearly yelling now

"_Can I just go home from now?_" Kakashi asked his conscious

"_No! You need to protect Naruto_" his conscious answered

"_When I get back Naruto better be grateful_" Kakashi muttered

"_Isn't talking to oneself considered insanity" commented his conscious_

"_Shut up" Kakashi grumbled as he paid attention to Akio once more_

"Four, we train twenty four seven" he continued

"When do we sleep?" Kakashi asked before he could stop himself

"It's a figure of speech idiot" Akio hit him on the head "Every minute available is a minute we train"

Kakashi cursed as he rubbed the now sore area. At least when Jiraya did it he didn't use force.

"Five, if I'm not impressed you go home. Understood?"Akio stared down at him

"Sure, five rules" Kakashi nodded staring upwards at the man

"Break any of these rules and you'll get a warning. Three warnings and I'll kick you out" Akio concluded

"Got it" Kakashi replied

Akio began to walk ahead and Kakashi heard him say "This is going to be a long week"

"_For you and me both_" Kakashi sighed as they entered the kitchen

"There you are" Izumi said happily "I was beginning to think you you'd miss lunch"

Akio smiled and kissed her affectionately on the head

"Kakashi you're here as well that's good" she smiled

"You already met?" Akio asked glaring at Kakashi

"Yes" Kakashi nodded "You're lucky to have her" and added as an afterthought "_I have no idea what she sees in you_"

"Come on and get it while it's hot" Izumi interrupted them "We can talk while eating"

They all sat down as butlers began serving them food. Kakashi felt uncomfortable at being waited hand and foot but managed to smile and act normal.

Kakashi gulfed down his food immediately. While Izumi laughed at his antics again while Akio sighed in annoyance.

"So Kakashi, what's your favorite color?" Izumi asked

Kakashi was shocked at the question

"What?" asked Izumi amused "Don't get that question often?"

"Almost never" admitted Kakashi

"Well?" she asked again

"I guess I like white" Kakashi said

"Is it because your hair is white?" she chuckled

"My hair is silver" Kakashi said

"Are you sure?" she asked "It looks white"

"Silver" Kakashi stressed

"White" Izumi stubbornly said

"It doesn't matter" Akio cut them off

"I think its interesting" she laughed

Akio chuckled and turned back to Kakashi "What's your chakra element?"

"That's not a fun question" Izumi said

"Your answer" Akio asked Kakashi again sending a playful wink to his wife

"Lighting" Kakashi answered _"This guy has two split personalities?"_

"No wonder you have a spark of life in you" Izumi joked

Akio rolled his eyes and laughed a bit

"Anyway" he said "Today just get settled in I'll have somebody show you to your room"

"_What happened to training 24/7" Kakashi muttered "I'm confused"_

"No need, I'll show him" Izumi volunteered

Izumi began leading down the hallways again and Kakashi was wondering what a person did with all this space. Probably for the butlers/ ninja to sleep in.

"Everything you need is inside" Izumi said as she led him to his room.

"This is a guest room?" asked Kakashi as he looked around. The bed was more fitting for a king than a ninja, the window was huge overlooking the garden and the closet was gigantic and Kakashi felt like an idiot with only three pairs of clothing.

The bathroom was connected to the room and it had contained various types of shampoo for some reason, various types of shaving cream and a new toothbrush. There was a shower and a bath and the towels were softer than his own bed sheets at home.

"If you need anything just ask one of the butlers and they'll get you what you need" Izumi said and left him to get packed

Kakashi sat down on the mattress and sunk in it immediately. Deciding to pack before he sleeps, Kakashi began unloading his stuff. When he opened the closet he was shocked to find some clothing already in there. He took them out and saw a note attached.

Wear these when you come to training.

Kakashi dumped his clothes randomly inside the closet deciding to stick with his own clothing.

Kakashi decided to take a bath since there is nothing better to do. He turned the hot water on and waited for the bath to fill up. He took off his clothing and dipped his leg in the tub to test the temperature. Perfect.

"I wonder what this week will be like." Kakashi contemplated as he sunk in the tub enjoying the warm water. "Akio is a psycho but I bet my own students thought the same thing about me when we first met." Kakashi chuckled as he remembered the encounter

"I marvel about what he'll teach me" Kakashi said "I remember when dad told me the legend"

_During the Second Great War the world was in great turmoil. Every nation was at war and complete cities were destroyed while shinobi fought recklessly. People believed that the world will be destroyed before the leaders of the Great Shinobi Nations agreed on peace._

_The Fire Country and The Lightning Country tried to reach a treaty however the other nations demolished the efforts by faking raids and framing both countries against each other._

_One ninja decided to put a stop to it and formed his own team of ninja elites from various countries. That leader was known as Akio, the Dragon Rider. Fabled to have ridden and controlled his own herd of dragons, Akio managed to murder innumerous number of shinobi no matter where their loyalty lay._

_People and shinobi alike were afraid of the monster unleashed in the world and were forced to end the war fear of being wiped out by the man._

_People said Akio was from the Country of Rock while others believed him to be from Konoha. After a while the rumors became dubious and the legend disappeared from the world. Some say he never existed._

"Apparently he does exist" Kakashi muttered "But the Second War was when Jiraya was a teenager himself, Akio is either very old or was strong at a young age."

KNOCK KNOCK

"Yes" Kakashi shouted indicating that he heard the knock

"Master Akio requires you to be present at dinner in precisely forty three minutes" a butler announced and Kakashi realized that his chakra signatures disappeared.

"Better get dressed" Kakashi sighed as he got up and wrapped the towel around him.

He opened his closet and got dressed in plain navy pants and a tight grey shirt with a mask attached. Not exactly formal but it was only dinner, right?

Kakashi noticed that his pictures flew out from the journal on were currently on the floor. He bent down and picked them up. He sighed once more as he recalled many memories then realized he needed to get going in order to not piss Akio off.

As Kakashi wandered down the halls trying to remember the way a butler poofed near him and directed the way

"Finally decided to join us" Akio noted when Kakashi entered "You're five minutes late"

"Sorry" Kakashi apologized. Doesn't this guy understand that a miracle just happened since he wasn't hours late. Then again, the memorial stone isn't here to distract him. Naruto will never believe me if I tell him this.

"Did you enjoy your bath?" Izumi asked as a butler gave Kakashi a plate with a steaming fresh lobster

"Hai" Kakashi nodded "The water was pretty warm"

"It comes directly from the springs" Izumi smiled

"No wonder" Kakashi smiled back

"Eat it while it's hot" Izumi cautioned

Kakashi turned around and in a split second the lobster was gone and his face back up

"That was delicious" Kakashi rubbed his stomach in satisfaction

"You should eat slower, it isn't healthy" Akio instructed

"I got used to eating this way" Kakashi shrugged

"What's hidden under your mask that requires you to hide it, hmmm?" asked Izumi

"Wouldn't you like to know" Kakashi joked

"Oh I well, rest assured" Izumi smiled

"So what are we going to do tomorrow?" Kakashi asked Akio. He couldn't deny the fact that he was curious and a bit nervous.

"Testing your skills" Akio answered sipping on some juice Kakashi guessed to be grape.

Kakashi sighed mentally due to how boring tomorrow is going to be. Even thought it made sense for him to be tested, it feels weird.

"Just go easy on him, Akio" Izumi pleaded "We don't need broken bones from the beginning"

"_I'm not that weak" Kakashi thought "but then again compared to Akio… if the legends are true that is"_

"We'll see" Akio murmured as he got up and left "Meet me at the open terrain at eight and don't be late"

"Good luck" Izumi smiled reassuringly as she and Kakashi left as well. Kakashi's room was closer and he was soon in his room

"So it starts tomorrow" Kakashi whispered as he sank in the mattress and yawned. Before he knew it he was in a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Longest Chapter I ever wrote! Anyway here is what you were waiting for: Kakashi's Evaluation.

_Thoughts_

Written on Paper or signs

* * *

Kakashi jumped up when he heard a loud ringing right next to his ear. As quick as he could he slammed down at the clock thankful that it stopped beeping annoyingly. He found a note next to it and picked it up to find neat scribbles on it

Good morning Kakashi! I had the liberty of getting you an alarm clock so you wouldn't be late. No thanks necessary, Izumi :D

"Unbelievable" Kakashi grumbled as he got up and washed his face. "I didn't know alarm clocks that loud existed"

After washing his face and brushing his teeth Kakashi put on the clothes Akio had instructed him to wear. They were simple black from head to toe with a sash round his waist to hold his swords if he had any. Kakashi then wandered the corridors and found his own way to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Kakashi!" Izumi smiled cheerfully when he came inside

"Hnn" Kakashi responded her still too tired to be jumping around

"Did the alarm clock help you get up?" she smirked

"You're evil" Kakashi muttered under his breath which made her laugh

"Will hurry up and eat your breakfast" Izumi said as a butler handed him some pancakes "You don't want to be late on your first day"

Kakashi as usual ate everything extremely quickly and made his exit.

As he walked outside towards the training area he looked up at the sky and wondered how Naruto was doing. With Jiraya there, he is probably training with Tenzou. Jiraya is probably out searching for a woman by now

Well there is no use wondering about others when you're in a sticky situation yourself.

"Hurry up already" Akio called out to him once he was in view. Kakashi jumped towards him and looked around realizing there was nothing special about this area

"Took you long enough" Akio said "Rules are simple, anything goes"

"Hai" Kakashi nodded

"Let's fight" Akio said nonchalantly as he stepped to the other side of the area "Begin"

Kakashi knowing there is no place to hide resorted to attack him directly.

Kakashi threw a few shuriken towards Akio who simply deflected them with… chakra? Not having the time to contemplate about them Kakashi engaged him in taijutsu. Kakashi realized that Akio also used chakra to deflect Kakashi's punches and kicks.

Akio managed to find an open area and kicked Kakashi in the stomach. Kakashi flipped in mid air and landed gracefully on his two feet.

"_What's going on?" Kakashi thought "I thought the Hyugga clan is the only one that could direct chakra so precisely. No it's not exactly like the Hyugga clan, instead of using the tips of the fingers he immediately creates a barrier of chakra to deflect his attacks_"

Kakashi wanting to test his theory revealed the sharingan

"So this is the sharingan I heard so much about" Akio smiled "It won't help you though and it's probably only draining your chakra"

Kakashi ignored him and attacked with a water jutsu. Akio formed his own seals in a speed that could rival Kakashi's and created a stone wall.

Kakashi didn't waste any time and ran up the water and jumped above the wall. Kakashi than formed the seals from the grand fire ball jutsu and sent it spiraling towards Akio. Akio jumped out of the way and Kakashi kept an eye on him

Akio suddenly went underground and came at Kakashi in speed Kakashi didn't know. Kakashi jumped away just in time and Akio was surprised that Kakashi managed to dodge the attack.

"_He's faster than Gai!" Kakashi exclaimed "Tch"_

Akio attacked Kakashi this time and Kakashi was simply avoiding his punches realizing that Akio didn't have an open spot. This was because every time Kakashi found an opening, Akio had a barrier of chakra, naked to the eye but visible with Kakashi's sharingan, form.

"_It's as if he reads my thoughts or simply shares my vision." _Kakashi noted as he skillfully avoided another punch _"I need to counterattack somehow"_

Akio smirked but continued landing punches on Kakashi. One particular nasty punch made its way through Kakashi's defenses and landed painfully on Kakashi's left side. Kakashi grunted in pain as a few more hits contacted with him until he regained his posture once more.

Kakashi then sent chakra to the soles of his feet just as Akio sent a kick towards him. Kakashi jumped up higher and faster than what was normal and back flipped in the air landing safely on the ground again.

"_I'm surprised he managed to block and doge so many" Akio thought as he watched Kakashi's chest rise and fall. "I fought Uchihas before but even they failed to hold up against me"_

"_I can't attack him carelessly" Kakashi contemplated "What now?"_

"_However, he relies on his sharingan too much considering it drains it's chakra as it does" Akio noted "I need to teach him how to fight without it"_

Kakashi formed the seals for another fire jutsu. Small balls of fire hurtled towards Akio. Akio performed another set of seals for a water jutsu and both jutsus collided creating a huge amount of smoke in the area.

Kakashi took the liberty of creating a lightning clone and hiding himself underground hoping to attack Akio from below.

Once the smoke began to clear a bit Kakashi's clone attacked Akio with a chidori. Akio seemed impressed by the jutsu but disappeared behind Kakashi. Kakashi couldn't stop immediately due to the speed he was moving at where as Akio grabbed a fistful of his hair and slammed him down on the ground hard.

The clone disappeared from the force right when the real Kakashi's hand came up to grab Akio and send him plummeting down.

Kakashi succeeded in pulling Akio down who disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"_Shit!" Kakashi cursed _just as Akio managed to stab Kakashi in his right shoulder. Kakashi gripped the sword preventing it from going any further then pushed away from Akio clenching his teeth at the pain that caused his shoulder

"You aren't the only one who took advantage of the smoke" Akio said cleaning the blood on his sword casually.

Kakashi cursed mentally again and contemplated his next move while Akio simply watched him, waiting.

"_I can't use Chidori directly" Kakashi winced as he remembered the clone's painful experience "Rasengan is off as well"_

"I heard you can use a sword" Akio said

Kakashi nodded "Hai"

"Mind demonstrating?" Akio asked but Kakashi knew from his tone of voice that it was meant as an order.

Kakashi performed a couple of seals he hadn't used in such a long time and two swords appeared.

"Why use a seal to summon them?" Akio asked

"I stopped using them regularly after quitting ANBU" Kakashi explained as he wielded one of the swords and seethed the other "But I sometimes prefer to use them in some missions so I make sure that it's always an option"

"When did you quit ANBU?" Akio asked again

"When I was twenty three" Kakashi answered "I'm turning thirty this September"

"Are we going to keep talking or are you attacking me?" Akio smirked

"You were the one asking questions" Kakashi glared at him but attacked none the less.

Both swords clashed loudly as they danced around the area. After going at this for a while Akio increased his speed and Kakashi managed to keep up.

Kakashi realized that Akio was going to keep increasing his speed bit by bit and Kakashi would soon be overwhelmed. Deciding to avoid serious injury Kakashi took out his other sword and sandwiched Akio's sword in between them.

Kakashi then proceeded to kick Akio away from him and jumped away as well creating some distance. The Akio he kicked went on fire and burned to the ground.

"_Fire clone?" Kakashi wondered when Akio replaced him. "He did it when I was summoning my swords!" _Kakashi panted for air exhaustion from lack of chakra began to dawn on him. Kakashi closed his sharingan and returned his head band in its rightful place on his eyes.

"_His limit with the sharingan needs to be improved" Akio thought "Let's see how he handles genjutsu without the sharingan" _

Kakashi performed a couple of seals and a wave of lightning headed towards Akio. Akio used an air jutsu of his own to cancel it out. Kakashi didn't wait to see the results of his jutsu and was already next to Akio by the time his jutsu faded.

Kakashi's punch missed Akio but Kakashi continued trying. Kakashi used the Lotus he copied from Gai. Kakashi used incredible speed to appear under Akio and keep him in the chin from under. He immediately jumped into action and wrapped his bandages around Akio sending them both spiraling toward the ground.

Once impact was reached, Kakashi jumped away and faced Akio who appeared to be unconscious but Kakashi didn't risk it. As he approached Akio, Kakashi recognized that the sun was directly over Akio in the middle of the sky indicating that it was noon.

Realization hit Kakashi and he immediately dispelled the genjutsu just in time to dodge Akio's punch. However, the other chakra powered punch managed to land right in Kakashi's gut. Kakashi coughed out some blood and fell at Akio's feet clutching his stomach in pain.

"Match is over" Akio announced

"What?" Kakashi asked in disbelief while groaning in pain "What if faking this pain is part of my plan?" and he coughed again

"I doubt it" Akio smirked "Besides nobody ever managed to fight after that punch"

"Aren't you a bit over confident" Kakashi sneered

Ignoring the comment Akio continued to explain "This punch was directed at the place that would have the lowest probability of knocking you unconscious. The amount of chakra I used was barely under the power needed to knock you out."

"So it's designed to cause the most amount of misery without the relief of losing consciousness." Kakashi summarized while trying to stand up

"Yes" Akio said pushing Kakashi back down. Kakashi gasped in pain then narrowed his eyes at Akio.

"Don't force your body to move just yet" Akio ordered him "You aren't in any real danger to do so"

Kakashi reluctantly obeyed as Akio sat down next to him.

"You weren't using your full power" Kakashi addressed him "Right?"

"Not in the slightest" Akio said indifferently "Although you did better than most"

"That's not good enough to help Jiraya and save Naruto though" Kakashi whispered to himself more than Akio

"Not even close" Akio mocked him

"Which is why tomorrow we shouldn't waste time testing my strengths again and focus on training more" Kakashi said

"Slow down" Akio said "You can't act so rash"

"Me? Rash?" Kakashi was shocked. The last time somebody told him that was his sensei not to mention he became a patient man.

"Yes" Akio said "Who else is here?"

"I apologize for trying to enlighten you here but we don't have time to take it easy" Kakashi growled

"Why is that?" Akio asked

"Because if I don't get stronger in time, Jiraya will go without me and die, where as Naruto, will be crushed. Not to mention the Akatsuki will continue trying to capture him." Kakashi said frustrated.

"It doesn't concern you" Akio stated "None of this affects you"

"Naruto is my student, Konoha is my home and Jiraya is an idiot whom for some reason I care about" Kakashi said "So I need to help him"

"I'm afraid I don't understand" Akio toyed with him

"Not when you disappear from the world." Kakashi muttered

"I'm still in touch with the world, Kakashi" Akio stated

"I doubt it" Kakashi mumbled

"Why are you determined to save Naruto and help Jiraya?" Akio asked

"I will never let somebody important to me die" Kakashi clenched his fists. _"I've always been weak before. I couldn't save dad, I couldn't save Obito, I failed to protect Rin and I let sensei die. I won't let Naruto slip through my fingers; I just need the power to save one last person"_

"That's a big statement to make" Akio said "We can't control things that are completely beyond our grasp. When a person must die, he dies"

"Doesn't mean you won't try" Kakashi stated

"I guess so" Akio smiled and stood up while extending a hand to Kakashi

Kakashi took it and gingerly stood up.

"Still hurts?" Akio grinned

Kakashi cursed under his breath while Akio laughed at his displeasure.

"I can walk by myself" Kakashi told him

"Are you sure?" Akio leered.

Kakashi nodded and Akio let go. Kakashi managed to stand up but when he tried to move it ached too much. Akio fore saw this and immediately helped Kakashi back to his feet.

"You probably have internal bleeding and damage" Akio said as they walked towards the house "But don't worry, Izumi will heal you"

"Looks like we can't train 24/7 since it's barely lunch time" Kakashi sighed

"I didn't expect you to be this weak" Akio mocked

"What did you say?" Kakashi glared dangerously

Akio laughed while Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Akio!" both men turned to see Izumi storming towards them "I told you no broken bones"

"Never said anything about internal bleeding though" Akio said

Izumi shook her head in dismay as a butler appeared in thin air

"Shall I hold him for you, Akio sama" he asked

"It's alright I'll lead him to his room myself" Akio nodded

"As you wish" the butler answered and disappeared as fast as he came

"Hurry up so I can patch him up" Izumi ordered

"I'm not that badly hurt, Izumi san" Kakashi said as he staggered across the corridors

"I know that punch he used" Izumi was in a fit "It's doesn't do wonders for your inwards"

"I'm fine, really" Kakashi tried to convince the angry Izumi

"In here" she bossed Akio and ignored Kakashi's speech

"Slowly now" Akio said as he helped Kakashi lay down on his bed

Izumi immediately sent her chakra inside him.

"You'll be fine in about four hours or so" Izumi said as she finished healing his gut.

"Can somebody get him some lunch?" Izumi asked the air and suddenly a butler appeared, nodded and left.

Izumi began tending to his other wounds "After you eat, go to sleep immediately"

"Hopefully you'll be able to join us for dinner" Akio said

Kakashi nodded while Izumi searched his body for other injuries. Kakashi took this time to inspect the damage he had inflicted on Akio.

"Just a few small cuts in case you were wondering" Akio grinned once he noticed where Kakashi's eyes were lingering

Kakashi cursed softly but both Akio and Izumi heard it.

"Don't worry you'll do better tomorrow just don't push yourself" Izumi warned him gently

"I don't think you have too much to worry about" Akio smiled "I'll make sure he doesn't over do it."

"What was that chakra thing you kept doing?" asked Kakashi "It isn't anything like what I've seen the Hyugga do"

"I might tell you later" Akio said stressing on might. Kakashi decided to leave it for now.

"Here's your lunch" a butler came back.

Kakashi nodded his thanks and ate everything in a second

"Now that you're done, go to sleep" Izumi ordered him.

Kakashi yawned in response, seized the covers, huddled in them and went to sleep.

"You over did it" Izumi said as they both left and closed the door quietly

"He's better than I imagined, although, there is still lots to work on" Akio said

"A possible future student?" she asked hopefully

"The odds aren't as bad as yesterday's were but he still has a long way to go" Akio said

"With those expectations of yours nobody will ever become your student" Izumi stated

Akio chuckled and kissed her lightly on the head "Let's go get our lunch"


	6. Chapter 6

Kakashi woke up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. He turned his eyes at the clock Izumi provided and it read five pm.

"Still have time to get to dinner" Kakashi yawned as he stretched his arms. He pulled the covers away from his and stood up, revealed that there was no longer any pain. He put on a plain black shirt and some grey sweatpants and walked out of his room.

"What should I do?" he thought as he wandered through the corridors. "I could go to the hot springs and relax, maybe swim in the pool or even sit under a tree"

Kakashi turned another corridor and found a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway

"Or I could explore the house" Kakashi decided as he lazily walked up the steps.

"What?" Kakashi murmured. In front of him was a huge door and that was it. The door was blue with golden lining and various carvings were packed in the middle. Most of them were symbols Kakashi had never seen. On his left there was another flight of stairs taking him to the third floor.

Debating on whether to go inside or turn back and sit under that tree Kakashi approached the door and put his hands on the handles.

"It's probably private but I can't help myself" Kakashi thought

"You don't want to get on the wrong side of Akio" his conscious argued

"He doesn't need to know" Kakashi retorted

"Akio will obviously find out and if that happens he'll send you back and you'll fail Jiraya" he conscious said trying to knock some sense into Kakashi

"Go away" Kakashi growled and opened the door.

"This is a library?" Kakashi was shocked "Well that drama was a waste"

"It could be his personal office" his conscious responded and Kakashi shut it out again.

There were more rows in this library than Kakashi imagined as he walked across the library. Although Konoha's library was bigger, all these books were either ancient or forbidden.

Kakashi realized that the books were organized in rows according to what they talk about. They were organized into five basic categories: Jutsu, History, Creatures and Demons, Chakra and Dragons.

"Dragons?" Kakashi asked himself. It was the smallest section in the library.

Kakashi shrugged and decided to think about dragon later and headed into the chakra section. He scanned the titles: Basics of Chakra, Chakra Elements, Chakra control and many others. Among all of them one book caught Kakashi's eye: How to increase chakra reserves

Kakashi had some techniques to increase his chakra but it never hurt to try new ones. Kakashi took the book from the shelf and sat on one of the chairs scattered around.

After reading for a while Kakashi came to an interesting part

Even if you try various methods to increase your chakra, there is a limit to how much your body can process. However, nature has a constant chakra that is to light for us to feel. Nature Chakra may be little, on the other hand, if a person collected it, his chakra might increase significantly.

The chakra you collect won't stay in your body and will return to nature in due course but it is the best way to have high reserves of chakra at your hand and deck during a battle.

The way to master gathering nature chakra is extremely difficult and may take a couple of months for an average shinobi. Not many can master it because molding nature chakra requires a new level of concentration.

Kakashi kept reading on and as time passed Kakashi remained captivated by the book.

"Enjoying yourself?" Akio asked and Kakashi dropped the book in surprise.

"I was.." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head trying to think of an excuse.

Akio didn't seem angry however no emotions played on his face so Kakashi couldn't guess what he was thinking. It's only a book so there is nothing to worry about.

Akio bent down and picked up the book. "Interesting choice" Akio looked back up at Kakashi "Why this one?"

"You aren't mad?" Kakashi asked

"Answer the question" Akio ordered

"_There is something wrong with his man" Kakashi sighed_

"I chose it because my chakra is unreliable" Kakashi answered "It wasn't at first but after I got the sharingan it was barely enough to keep me alive."

"Why do you need the sharingan to fight?" Akio inquired

"Because I have a blind spot if I don't" Kakashi explained "When fighting skilled shinobi I need it"

"Why didn't you train to fight with your blindside?" he asked

_Flashback_

"_It's my fault" Kakashi yelled_

"_No it's not, Kakashi" Minato reasoned "People die when they die"_

"_But if I didn't lose my eye I would've seen the boulder coming and Obito wouldn't have needed to save me" Kakashi choked on his tears_

"_That's not true" Minato smiled softly "If Obito didn't save you this time he would've another"_

"_Huh?" Kakashi was confused_

"_There are always some obstacles we can't overcome and we come to a terrible fate, If Obito didn't save you, sooner or later another obstacle would come and the results might have been the same" Minato said_

"_No!" Kakashi yelled "I would've trained a lot more and become stronger everyday"_

"_There is always somebody stronger than you" Minato stated "The way you choose to live with that concept is up to you"_

"_I swear that I will never allow anybody to protect me anymore" Kakashi clenched his fists "I will stop being a burden and I will always protect my teammates" _

"Having a blindside can you make you vulnerable and endanger those around" Kakashi responded

"Fair enough" Akio nodded"But you can develop your skills to overcome this hindrance"

Kakashi didn't reply

"Before you learn to gather nature chakra you'll learn to fight without the sharingan" Akio continued

"I already can" Kakashi said

"You'll learn to fight high ranked jounin without it, not chunin" Akio informed him

"Tch" Kakashi muttered in annoyance

"However, what you do in your free time isn't up to me" Akio smiled and gave Kakashi the book "Although I must warn you it isn't easy"

Kakashi took the book "How many people know how to do this?"

"Among the living only me" Akio replied "Those who learned it with me past away"

"I'm sorry" Kakashi said

"Not to worry about it" Akio said "Now hurry up before Izumi gets extremely furious"

Kakashi shuddered at the thought and followed Akio out of the library


	7. Chapter 7

Kakashi woke up at the sound of the alarm clock ringing in his ear yet again.

"I hid the last clock away!" he moaned in annoyance "I don't need help to wake up"

He got used to the ritual by now. He entered the kitchen and sat down next to Akio as a butler presented him with some omelets.

Kakashi nodded his thanks and began to eat.

"Since you eat fast I'm guessing you'll be ready to train in five minutes" Akio said as a butler took away his plate and put it in the sink.

"Ten" Kakashi grumbled. He wasn't a morning person except when it was at the sunset. Kakashi found the night to be more pleasant and quiet than any other time. (Very different from nowadays :D)

"Seven" Akio bargained with amusement

Kakashi sighed but agreed anyway. "Where is Izumi?" Kakashi asked as he realized the missing presence of the cheerful woman

"Medical gathering" Akio replied "All her friends are the people she trained with and every month they gather together and enjoy each other's company and catching up."

"I see" Kakashi said as he drank his juice facing away from everybody.

"Let's go" Akio ordered him

"You said seven" Kakashi informed him

"I changed my mind" Akio smirked as he saw Kakashi glare at him and get up.

"We're going to train in the city area today" Akio stated

"Whatever you say" Kakashi yawned. They were passing the pool and Akio stopped abruptly.

Kakashi realized and turned around with a raised eye brow "What's the matter?"

Akio's mouth turned up into a smile and he grabbed Kakashi and threw him in before Kakashi could even grasp what was going on

Kakashi fumed dangerously while Akio kept his smile "Now that you're awake we can start"

Kakashi put his arms on the floor and pushed himself up. Kakashi kept muttering incoherently all the way to the training ground while Akio hummed happily

"Ready?" he asked as they entered the city gates

"For what?" Kakashi asked attempting to dry himself up

"Trying to find me" Akio said

"You've got to be kidding" Kakashi said "How's that going to help Jiraya?" _Besides I'm an expert tracker_

"You mistook my words" Akio chuckled

"Huh?" Kakashi was clearly confused

"I'm not asking you to track me" Akio said

"What then?" he asked frustrated

"We'll be fighting and I'll suddenly hide, you need to find me before I act" he explained

"I have the sharingan for that" Kakashi answered "What I need is more chakra"

"I'm teaching you to fight without it as I told you before" Akio calmly replied

Kakashi nodded in understanding as they entered the city square

"Ready?" Akio asked for the second time

"Hai" Kakashi nodded

"Begin" Akio shouted and the minute he said those words Kakashi was bombarded with a series of kicks and punches.

One of the punches hit him squarely in the face and Kakashi staggered back

"Maybe I should still teach you taijutsu without the sharingan" Akio mocked

Kakashi clenched his teeth and attacked himself. _This is harder without the sharingan. He's too fast!_

Kakashi was trying to follow Akio's movements with his lone eye and it wasn't doing him any good. NO matter how much he focused he always missed a punch or kick and his blind side was beginning to irritate him.

"Don't follow me with your eyes" Akio shouted as he knocked Kakashi off his feet and attempted to stomp on him which Kakashi dodged by rolling away.

Kakashi stood up immediately and cursed.

"Use your senses!" Akio instructed "Don't rely solely on your eyes!"

Kakashi understood what Akio wanted however… _Using my senses will only slow me down, the eyes react faster than any other sense. When an enemy hides I takes every ninja a while to track down his scent, chakra or sound. To do that in a full out fight in taijutsu was nearly impossible._

"Giving up already?" Akio asked as he attacked Kakashi again

"_It's impossible! With the speed he's going at there is no way other than the sharingan for any ninja" Kakashi yelled at the logic_

"What's wrong?" Akio scoffed at him

"_Even Gai had to focus on Itachi's legs in order to keep up with the man since he couldn't look at his eyes." He muttered "Not rely on his sense of smell"_

Akio's fist connected agonizingly at Kakashi's ribs sending him crashing in a make shift building

"_It's impossible!" Kakashi said _as he staggered back up

"You're pathetic right now" Akio ridiculed him

Kakashi growled at him and attacked back but Akio easily dodged his attacks and disappeared behind him kicking him in the back.

Kakashi kicked him back from the ground as he flipped back into position. Akio dodged it with ease then vanished.

Kakashi frantically started looking around for him.

"I told you not to use your eyes" Akio said as he suddenly flew out and hit Kakashi and disappeared yet again

After a few times of Akio repeating the same phrase and Kakashi trying to dodge with no avail Kakashi cursed.

"_It's impossible!" he thought _as another series of punches collided with his body

"Don't use your eyes!" Akio shouted in frustration

"_That's hard to do." Kakashi mused and closed his eyes "Maybe if I can only rely on my senses it'll work"_

Kakashi tried to smell Akio as he got close but he was still getting hit and Kakashi was beginning to lose his stamina

"Damn it!" Kakashi shouted as a painful kick found its way through his defenses and he fell to the floor. He got back up slowly and closed his eyes again

"Use your senses" Akio shouted again as he came to punch him again

Kakashi took a deep breath and tried to imagine everything with his senses. There was no sound at all so Kakashi tried to smell him out which also failed. Trying to find Akio's chakra signals proved futile.

"_How can I find him if my senses are rendered useless" Kakashi grumbled "Can't lose focus"_

Kakashi faintly heard the sound of a swish coming from his left side. He turned quickly and managed to grab Akio's hand before it contacted and gripped it tight

Kakashi opened his eyes and saw Akio smirking

"It's isn't over yet" he said and used his other arm to counter attack. Kakashi grabbed that too and twisted away from him.

Akio examined Kakashi who was currently trying to draw in deep breaths.

"_He finally got it" Akio sighed in relief "I'm surprised he managed to cope so quickly though, usually it would take people days in order to sense me with just sound."_

Kakashi was staring at Akio waiting for his command. Do they keep fighting? A break hopefully?

"Kakashi" Akio called out to him as he advanced "Let's take a break under a nice tree"

Kakashi sighed out loud and gladly sat down rubbing his sore areas. Some were already bruising.

"I was beginning to think you just wouldn't get it" Akio smiled as he joined Kakashi

"I understood what you wanted, I just thought it was impossible" Kakashi answered

"Nothing impossible, never forget that" Akio informed him

"You'll be telling me I could fly next" Kakashi snorted

"If you get a dragon" Akio responded unfazed

"I'M GETTING A DRAGON!!" Kakashi bellowed

Akio was in a fit of laughter and begin tearing up

"What?" Kakashi coked his head to the side

"Of course not" Akio laughed "Imagine giving an idiot like you a dragon! HAHAHAHA"

"What did you say?" Kakashi yelled back

"Think of the chaos and havoc you'd do" Akio continued to laugh

"I think you're the one who's losing it, old man" Kakashi balled his hand in a fist waving it in front of Akio.

"Hahahaha" Akio's laughter died out while Kakashi huffed in indignation and folded his arms.

Akio coughed lightly "Anyway, no you won't" he said

"You're acting as if you were completely normal a second ago" Kakashi muttered

"Who said I wasn't it?" Akio smiled

"Whatever. You're crazy" Kakashi sulked

"Break's over" Akio announced as he got up

"WHAT!" Kakashi jumped up "Stop being crazy and act like a real teacher"

"What was that?" Akio narrowed his eyes dangerously at Kakashi

Kakashi gulped at the intense glare and put his hands up in surrender "Kidding, kidding"

"Thought so" Akio smirked as they faced each other again

"Here" Akio said handing Kakashi a blindfold

"You're not serious" Kakashi eyed the object darkly

"Put it on: Akio ordered him back to his serious mood

"_He really needs to stop switching personalities" Kakashi grumbled _as he put it on.

Akio started attacking Kakashi with ninjutsu, taijutsu, weapons, genjutsu and whatever he could come up with along the way.

At the end of the day Kakashi ended up in a bath of ice cubes as a feeble attempt to decrease the pain. Kakashi winced when a nasty burn pricked due to a exploding kunai he didn't detect until it was too late. Kakashi expected Akio to stop afterwards, Akio, however, didn't care an attacked him immediately adding to the mountain of bruises.

"Unbelievable" Kakashi sighed as he got up "This isn't helping at all!"

Kakashi put on some PJs and fell asleep completely disregarding dinner.


	8. Chapter 8

"Where is he?" Akio sighed as he ate the last of his dinner and set out to find Kakashi.

Akio knocked on Kakashi's room door before entering. He smiled fondly when he found a familiar silver haired man sleeping soundly.

"Seriously?" he laughed quietly and closed the door.

"Sorry I'm late!" Izumi shouted as she entered the house

"Izumi chan" Akio hugged her "How was your day?"

"Great!" she said "We had a lot of fun and Tanya taught me a new recipe for food poisoning that is easier to make and works faster!"

Akio laughed at her enthusiasm. They currently entered their bedroom and Izumi began finding her night clothes

"Where's Kakashi?" she asked

"Asleep" Akio answered her as she slipped into her night gown.

Her face took on a mask of small horror "What did you do to the poor kid?" she asked

"Training" Akio smiled reassuringly "It's hard work"

"I guess" she mumbled and Akio smiled

"We should sleep as well" Akio stated as they both huddled into the covers

"Goodnight Akio" Izumi yawned

Akio kissed her goodnight and they both fell asleep.

* * *

"Welcome back, Izumi san" Kakashi greeted as he joined them on the table.

"Thank you Kakashi, but I told you to stop the formalities" she smiled back

"I hope you're ready today" Akio gave an evil smile

"Not the same as yesterday's" he moaned while Akio and Izumi laughed

"Akio sama!" a butler yelled "There is some trouble cooking at the Country of Herbs"

"What's going on?" Akio asked

"Somebody is destroying the herbs and the people are worried there most unique medicinal herbs will be next"

"That is a crisis especially that thirty seven percent of all medicine comes from that country" Akio sighed

"Your presence is required immediately" the butler stated

"Me and you will go" Akio nodded "Kakashi I guess you have the day off, squirt" and with that they left

"I'll kill him when he gets back" Kakashi muttered darkly

Izumi laughed "Disappointed"

"It's not that but he called me squirt" Kakashi complained

Izumi laughed out loud this time

"I'm going shopping today, want to join me?" she asked

"No thanks" Kakashi replied "There's something I've been wanting to try out"

"Just be careful alright" she cautioned and left.

Kakashi smiled "Guess it's time to learn how to gather nature chakra"

He got up and left for his room to find his book. After finding it, Kakashi sat in the forest area and opened to the instructions

In order for a shinobi to gather nature chakra one most feel it first. The only way that is achieved is when one person cuts himself from everything while in deep meditation. Close your eyes and listen to the environment, smell it, and feel it. Only once you sense nature chakra only will you be able to gather it

"That doesn't sound difficult" Kakashi said as he folded his legs and meditated. How wrong he was! He was able to listen to and smell nature but he wasn't able to feel it.

"Do they mean the wind blowing in my face or rain hitting my face when it falls" Kakashi sighed. He should've asked Akio for a tip before the man left.

"Let's try this again" Kakashi groaned and closed his eyes again.

After three hours passed Kakashi was still in his deep trance not aware of anything at all. Suddenly he felt being crushed by the massive amounts of chakra surrounding him. Kakashi gasped an opened his eyes.

Everything looked the same, however, he could sense the chakra around him and it was engulfing him

"How does Akio stand this?" Kakashi muttered as he rubbed his forehead in an attempt to ease the pain.

If you ever do succeed in sensing chakra then you might be overwhelmed at the amount all around due to the fact that nature is all around you. In order to be relieved from the feeling shut down your newly developed senses down.

"What? Shut them down?" Kakashi asked in disbelief "What was I working for during the past hours?"

Seeing no choice he tried to turn off his senses which he found easy to do.

"They could have said focus on something else instead of speaking in riddles" Kakashi said as he read the third instruction

Heighten your senses once more but keep it at a minimum and this time try to suck up the chakra from around you. This is done by gathering your own chakra at your dominant hand and using it as a pulling force (for beginners, later on you'll be able to gather it without moving a muscle if you're determined)

Kakashi focused on heightening his senses "It's much more easier to turn them off as the instructions so nicely put it"

After fifteen minutes Kakashi managed to drown in the nature chakra around him once more.

"Again this is suffocating" Kakashi muttered as he extended his right hand out. Kakashi gathered his chakra at the palm of his hand with ease.

"How do I make it pull things towards me?" Kakashi asked himself

* * *

"Back so early?" Izumi asked as she was putting away the food in cupboards.

"You could just ask the butlers to do the shopping" Akio smiled "Much safer"

She laughed "It's more fun to do it yourself"

"Grocery shopping, fun?" he asked

"Better than sitting around here all day" she retorted

"Point" Akio grinned

"So what are you doing here so early?" she asked

"The so called bandits turned out to be no more than thugs" Akio explained "We need to establish some ninjutsu in that country for the benefit of all the ninja world"

"They are quite stubborn" Izumi noted recalling the many times she went there to inspect herbs

"I know" Akio grimaced "But you can't blame them since growing herbs makes a ton of money"

"People should get over materialistic things" Izumi said "I could survive without the pool"

Akio laughed "I'll remove it right away"

"I didn't say there was a need to" Izumi giggled

"Where's the twerp?" he asked

"Right, he said he'll kill you for calling him squirt then left to do something in that forest area" Izumi informed him

"I'll go see what's he up to" Akio said as he left the house once more

After walking leisurely, he arrived just in time to see Kakashi attempt to gather nature chakra once more.

"Damn it! How do you make chakra pull towards you?" Kakashi asked himself aloud

"_Maybe I should tell him_" Akio snickered silently as Kakashi tried again to fail miserably

Kakashi tried to change the flow of his chakra but only managed to do so slightly

FLASHBACK

"Jiraya sama?" Kakashi sat down next to his sensei's sensei

"What do you want?" Jiraya asked while trying to find a girl

"I get that Naruto use a clone to help him form Rasengan but what I don't get is why didn't you teach him to do it with one. I mean learning shaping chakra combined with an element could help him a lot in the future" Kakashi asked

"Naruto knows how to create shape and add an element to it, he just doesn't know how to contain the strength in the form of a Rasengan" Jiraya explained "Besides, sometime two is better than one and a jutsu is executed faster and is more reliable"

"But still" Kakashi began but Jiraya cut him off

"I understand how it may be better for him to learn to do it solo, however, some chakra techniques simply cannot be done alone unless your freakishly skilled" Jiraya

* * *

"I can't believe I'm actually trying this" Kakashi mumbled as he created a clone

"I'll work on gathering the chakra and you work on changing it's force" Kakashi ordered his clone

"Interesting" Akio smirked

Kakashi began gathering the chakra at his palm "NOW!"

The clone immediately began to change the pull of the chakra but the power was simply too strong and Kakashi was thrown away. The clone dispelled as Kakashi got up and inspected the damage

There was a hole in the ground where he and his clone were standing and two fallen trees, both of which he crashed into

"Doesn't hurt to try again" Kakashi sighed as a new clone appeared "I'm going to regret this"

Kakashi felt immensely relived when the clone actually managed to gather a hair of chakra before being blown away

"There is an easier way" Akio finally decided to show himself and stepped out from the tress

"How long were you there?" Kakashi asked a bit startled

"Before you started creating clones and destroying my training grounds" Akio smirked

"On my defense I was being engulfed by chakra to even sense you" Kakashi muttered darkly

"Of course, that MUST be it" Akio mocked

"I hate you" Kakashi glared at him "Besides if you were here for so long couldn't you at least have given me a tip!"

"You learn best after making mistakes" Akio said

"You're just lazy" Kakashi retorted

"Think what you may" Akio ignored him

"You're the worst teacher ever" Kakashi retorted

"Here's your tip" Akio said ignoring the last comment "Try to do something within your league"

"What?" Kakashi yelled "I'll have you know that I'm beginning to accomplish it"

"Doesn't look that way" Akio replied

Kakashi sighed deciding to forget Akio's comments. He had better things to worry about.

"Why don't you rest and have lunch like a normal person" Akio began "Then I'll help you out here"

"With gathering nature chakra and not blindfolded fights" Kakashi conditioned

"We'll see about that" Akio grinned


	9. Chapter 9

"Training hard?" asked Izumi as both men entered the kitchen

Kakashi nodded and sat down facing Akio.

"Have some ramen!" she offered "I cooked it myself since there was nothing else to do"

"_Naruto" Kakashi sighed mentally_

After dinner Kakashi found himself back into the forest terrain being blown away into a tree.

"Some of your chakra is managing to pull the natural chakra however the one farther out is not, thus resulting in a collision between them" Akio stated

"How about you show me how?" Kakashi groaned silently, yet, Akio still heard him and jumped down

Kakashi activated his sharingan and observed ignoring Akio narrowing his eyes at him for doing so

At first, all the nature chakra was still engulfing but a moment later it disappeared away from the surrounding and into Akio's body.

"What?" Kakashi was surprised

"You learn to do it fast with practice" Akio smirked at Kakashi's dumbfounded look.

"Without the palm?" Kakashi asked

"Did you see me move at all?" Akio asked him annoyed

"No but it seems ummm…" Kakashi mused

"Impossible" Akio decided to help him out

"No" Kakashi answered without skipping a beat "How do you get the chakra to absorb other chakra?"

"You must FEEL not SEE" Akio answered forcefully

"Alright" Kakashi muttered as he closed his sharingan

"Now without the aids of clones, I'd like you to gather as much chakra as you possible can" Akio instructed him

"Hai" Kakashi nodded as he began gathering his chakra at the center of his palm. Suddenly he felt a throbbing pain in his head

"What was that for?" Kakashi asked as he rubbed his head

"Don't fix it all in your palm, your entire body" Akio said

"But the book clearly stated that…" Kakashi was interrupted

"I'm the teacher here, not that book" Akio answered smugly. _"Besides you have the talent to immediately begin doing it skillfully" he smiled_

"Fine" Kakashi said as he formed the seal of the ram to help him concentrate.

Akio knocked his hands away and separated them

"What now?" Kakashi asked getting frustrated

"No seals" Akio said "That way your opponent doesn't know you're gathering the chakra and can't stop you even if he does know"

"But shouldn't I learn how to do it first then worry about perfecting it" Kakashi asked confused

"No, this way you won't get used to gathering it using seal" Akio answered

Kakashi sighed but decided not to argue and tried to gather chakra and spread it without using any seal. He could gather it without seals but it was barely as controlled as doing it with seals.

"Control your chakra" Akio ordered "It's all over the place"

Kakashi closed his eyes and tried to remember his chakra pathways he saw many times with the sharingan

It wasn't working as his chakra acted randomly. At one point it would gather near his stomach then suddenly divert to his hands and feet. Not to mention that the chakra was incredibly unbalanced that it sort of made Kakashi nauseous.

"Focus" Akio said

"Feel the chakra not see it" Kakashi thought about the words Akio kept repeating. Kakashi realized that it was much easier to control once you could tell how your chakra was reacting.

"Good" Akio smiled "Try gathering it at your body's outline"

"Outline?" Kakashi asked

"Sort of like a barrier" Akio nodded

"Alright" Kakashi nodded

Before they knew it, midnight came upon them. Kakashi was extremely exhausted and was currently clutching his knees and trying to take in full breaths

"We'll finish tomorrow" Akio stated

"Hai" Kakashi yawned in response and slowly made his way to his room.

Kakashi stripped himself quickly of his clothes and huddled in his covers not bothering to change into his night outfit.

Enjoying the soft breeze from the open window Kakashi soon fell asleep.

* * *

When Kakashi woke up with no ringing in his ear, he was surprised. Not that he missed it but it was unsettling.

Kakashi lifted himself up and realized that the clock was still next to him.

"Batteries for the alarm must be dead" Kakashi mumbled. However when he looked at the clock more closely he realized that it was eleven already

"Damn it!" Kakashi immediately jumped out of bed, put on his training clothes and sprinted to the kitchen

"Good morning" Izumi said cheerfully. Akio wasn't even there

"Where is Akio sama?" Kakashi stammered

"Take it easy" she chuckled "He let you sleep in"

"Oh" Kakashi sighed in relief

She chuckled at his reaction "Here's a sandwich"

"Thanks" Kakashi smiled cheerfully as he dashed out of the house

Kakashi dashed to the training grounds to find Akio maiming a tree.

"Finally up!" Akio smiled

"I'm so sorry" Kakashi mumbled quickly "The alarm didn't go off and I got used to it"

"That's not an excuse from a ninja" Akio said sternly

"Izumi san said you let me sleep in" Kakashi acknowledged

"After you were an hour late" Akio replied

"Can we start?" Kakashi asked hoping for Akio to dismiss his tardiness

"I suppose" Akio nodded "But were going to train extra hard and long to make up for lost time"

Kakashi's eyes widened in disbelief "There is no way to train more than we did yesterday"

"Stop complaining" Akio said with a hint of annoyance in his voice

Kakashi immediately shut his trap

"Jiraya is coming to get you in two days including this one" Akio said "That's forty eight hours and barely enough time to teach you much"

"I'm already feeling much stronger if it's any consolation" Kakashi commented

"I don't care if you're still the same frankly" Akio said "I'm just doing this so Jiraya will live"

Kakashi sighed "I might go die you know"

"And I should care because?" asked Akio _"Let's see how this will affect his training, people are always stronger when provoked"_

"Let's just start" Kakashi proposed

"Today we are going to continue were we left off" Akio began "Start creating the chakra barrier around your body"

"Hai" Kakashi nodded as he did it with ease due to the amount of training they did last night

"Looks like you're getting the hang of this" Akio nodded

"What did you expect?" Kakashi answered smugly

"Stop boasting you idiot" Akio yelled

"I was only joking" Kakashi replied

Akio sighed in dismay "Moving on"

"What next?" Kakashi asked

"Try changing the pull of your chakra" Akio stated

"And how do I do that?" Kakashi inquired

"Chakra has a natural pathway" Akio explained "Chakra moves differently with every person however most ninja can divert their chakra in order to better a jutsu"

"Like my chidori?" Kakashi asked

"The lighting ball?" Akio questioned

Kakashi's eye twitched "It's a powerful assassination jutsu that…"

"Assassination?" Akio was surprised "I've seen few jutsus make that much sound"

"The person would be dead before he hears it" Kakashi declaimed

"What if that person wasn't an idiot?" Akio asked

"I've killed S-ranked criminals with that jutsu" Kakashi clarified

"But it isn't assassination" Akio explained "Assassination is performed in otter silence"

"I'm a one of a kind type of assassin" Kakashi bragged

Akio resisted the urge to punch Kakashi and decided to torture him in his training

"So is it like my chidori or Rasengan?" Kakashi asked diverting the topic

"Let's stick with Rasengan and not your idiotic jutsu" Akio said "whoever taught it to you can't be a worthy ninja"

"I created it" Kakashi stated furiously

"Now it all makes sense" Akio smirked

Kakashi started fuming as Akio resumed his explanation "Like making you chakra swirl around in a tight area in a circular motion, you need to make your chakra pull that much in a much more smaller area"

"You mean like a mini circle within a Rasengan?" Kakashi summarized

"Pretty much" Akio smiled

"That's impossible" Kakashi bluntly said

"I told you to never use that word" Akio grinned

"Rasengan takes chakra control to a new level" Kakashi explained "You can't create a more concentrated amount than that"

Akio sighed but held out his right hand to show Kakashi. Chakra started gathering in Akio's palm that was smaller than the Rasengan significantly and had a dense area in the middle as small as a dot" (Hard to explain :S. I hope somebody gets what I'm talking about :D)

Kakashi gaped at him as nature chakra was being swallowed by his little black hole. Akio then placed his other hand as if to conceal it. He threw both his arms back then pushed his right hand outward extremely fast.

The mini ball of chakra created such force that the wind began blowing Kakashi backwards and nearly sent him flying (if he hadn't crouched down and protected himself with his hands). The wind began slashing everything in its path. Kakashi's training outfit was crumbling apart and his mask was now nonexistent.

Suddenly Kakashi heard a massive blast and everything began to calm down.

Once everything subsided Kakashi saw a gaping in the middle of a hill overlooking Akio's mansion. Everything in Akio's path was completely destroyed. Akio was standing tall, unharmed.

"What the…" Kakashi stammered

"Nothing is impossible" Akio smiled clearly enjoying the look on Kakashi's face

"How did you do that?" Kakashi asked. He felt like a kid again being amazed when his father or sensei did something peculiar.

_Flashback_

"_Sensei?" a five year old Kakashi asked cocking his heads to the side cutely_

"_Yes Kakashi" Minato smiled at the little prodigy_

"_Why is your nickname the yellow flash?" he asked_

"_I was wondering when you'll ask me that" Minato smiled and suddenly disappeared, then repapered a good distance away. He kept repeating the process over and over then suddenly popped up in front of Kakashi. _

_Being the cute little kid he was, Kakashi jumped back and fell to the ground with a small thud, eyes in awe. _

"_That was…." Kakashi muttered_

"_That was what?" Minato asked_

"_AMAZING!" Kakashi yelled jumping up and down "You have got to teach me that"_

"_Slow down" Minato grabbed Kakashi and tossed him in the air grabbing him as he came down_

"_Can you teach me?" Kakashi asked again_

"_Maybe when you're older" Minato chuckled_

"_I'm ready now" Kakashi pouted which made Minato laugh out loud_

"_Not yet kiddo" Minato ruffled his hair_

"_Meanie" Kakashi retorted and stuck his tongue at his sensei_

_Minato was now cracking up with laughter to the extent of tears which only made Kakashi angrier._

* * *

"I was going to teach it to you but apparently it's impossible for you" Akio leered

Kakashi didn't hear his comment since he was just amazed at what he had seen

"Kakashi!" Akio called out to him "Kakashi!"

"_Impossible" Kakashi muttered "Nobody can be this strong"_

"KAKASHI!" Akio shouted and hit him in the back of his head

Kakashi awoke from his trance and smiled sheepishly "How does that go again?"

Akio smiled and shook his head in dismay.


	10. Chapter 10

I want to thank:

Kakashikrazed

Black-winter-cat

for their awesome review and constructive criticism.

I hope more people would review so I know how many people are actually reading this thing :D Thank you and on with Chapter 10

* * *

"AKIO!" Izumi shouted as she approached them "What were you thinking using that justu?"

"I was showing Kakashi a thing or two" Akio elaborated

"You are NOT teaching him that" she shouted "Who knows what kind of damage it can create"

"I'm sure I'll manage" Kakashi replied

"NO!" she continued her rant "You only need to teach him how to kill not create mass destruction!"

"It sort of kills people" Akio smiled

"Akio I'm warning you" she pointed a finger at him "Don't you dare teach it to him, it could kill him"

"He can handle it" Akio debated

Izumi was shocked _"He actually believes somebody is worthy of his time!"_

"Izumi" Akio asked her afraid of her sudden silence

"Fine I'll give him a chance" Izumi sighed "But I better not regret this"

"Thanks" Akio smiled

"What happened to your mask?" Izumi asked

"Slashed away" Kakashi muttered

"I think you look better without it" she smiled warmly at him. His face made him seem younger than his own age. Instead of looking like a young thirty year old young man he looked to be about twenty five.

"But it makes me look younger and barely as scary" Kakashi commented on his opinion

Akio laughed "I'm with Izumi, besides you can wear it in mission but no need to wear it ALL the time"

"Can we get back to training" Kakashi muttered

"Be careful" Izumi said as she eyed Akio suspiciously before storming back into the house

"Well….." Kakashi smiled

"Chakra barrier" Akio ordered him which Kakashi proceeded to do with relative ease although he could still try and do it with less focus.

"Now what?" Kakashi asked

"Try to make the chakra pull towards your body" Akio constructed "It will be painful at first but your body will learn adapt to it"

"Painful?" Kakashi asked confused "Why would it be painful?"

"You're making your chakra push towards you" Akio explained "It will create a lot of pressure in your body"

"Do you still feel the pain?" Kakashi asked

"It's absent" Akio answered "No pain at all"

"Alright" Kakashi said and closed his eyes to focus.

_Make the chakra pull towards you…_

"You're getting it" Akio said hiding the fact that he was impressed Kakashi could do it so quickly. Maybe knowing the Rasengan makes it easier

Kakashi winced in pain as he felt himself being crushed by his chakra.

"Withstand the pain and keep going" Akio instructed from the sidelines

Kakashi was beginning to sweat but he continued to make his chakra pull inwards.

Kakashi was now clenching his teeth trying to keep the pain at a minimum. He dealt with worse.

"You're getting there" Akio told him again in order to encourage him.

The pain was becoming unbearable and the added chakra didn't help relive him of the pain. Kakashi was no longer able to concentrate and fell down on his knees taking deep breaths.

Akio came to stand next to Kakashi and put a comforting hand on his back "That was excellent"

Kakashi was still breathing rapidly but managed to put on a small smile

"I felt it" he said "Nature chakra"

"Amazing isn't it" Akio remembered his first experience in gathering it.

Kakashi nodded tiredly. Kakashi started trying to get up but Akio stopped him

"What are you doing?" he asked

"I don't have the time to lay back" Kakashi answered as he smacked Akio's arm away and stood up. "I need to get stronger"

"I wouldn't do any good if you're unconscious or dead" Akio replied

Kakashi smirked "I don't tire so easily"

"The state you're in says otherwise" Akio said as he watched Kakashi close his eyes

Kakashi began creating the chakra barrier around him ignoring Akio's words

Akio sighed "Stubborn idiot"

After a few more trials Kakashi was beginning to gather a large amount of nature chakra.

"You actually did it" Akio was smiling _"Knew he could"_

"Well I did have a great teacher" Kakashi smiled

Akio grinned and beckoned Kakashi to sit with him under the tree

"Jiraya is coming tomorrow night or later next morning" Akio stated

"I need to write him a letter" Kakashi informed him

"When you fight the Akatsuki" Akio said "Try not to die"

Kakashi was stunned at his words. He then dismissed it and smiled "You don't expect me to lose to such idiots now do you". Kakashi however wasn't true to his feelings. He was actually nervous but that was to be accepted.

"Kakashi…" Akio said

"Yes?" Kakashi was beginning to get freaked out by his attitude

"Let's try using the sharingan while gathering nature chakra" Akio said as he stood up

_It looked as if he was going to say something entirely different. Kakashi's inner self had the animated sweat drop._

Kakashi opened his sharingan and found gathering nature chakra much easier with it. The usual drain on his chakra disappeared and it felt great

"Try gathering it subconsciously now" Akio stated "Like when you fight on water"

"Hai" Kakashi nodded and suddenly Akio attacked him

Kakashi immediately went into action and tried to fight back. However, Kakashi still couldn't completely gather nature chakra in a full fight. Every now and then Kakashi would feel his chakra being drained and realize that he wasn't gathering nature chakra anymore.

"It comes with practice" Akio explained as they walked back to the house

Kakashi was panting audibly and his eyes were dropping slightly from exhaustion. When they entered the kitchen Kakashi sat down immediately and dropped his head on the table.

"How'd it go?" Izumi asked

"Well" Akio asked

"Is he ready for the Akatsuki?" she asked

"More or less" Akio answered. He took a look at Kakashi and realized that he was already asleep

"Jiraya sent this message" a butler said as he handed Akio a letter

Akio,

I'm coming a little early since I found an Akatsuki member and went to kill him. He was relatively close to you so I'll be there in the morning. Jiraya.

"Tomorrow?" Akio asked himself

"Is Jiraya coming early?" Izumi asked

Akio nodded

"You don't seem happy" she commented

"I'm fine" he smiled at her "I just don't think he is ready to take on the entire Akatsuki"

Izumi's face dropped "I thought you said he was"

Akio sighed

"Are you worried?" she asked "Is that what this is all about?"

"Alright I'll admit it" Akio said "I got attached to the kid and I don't want to put his in such danger"

Izumi smiled "I think you just found yourself a student"

"Seems weird to admit it but yes" Akio smiled "However, Jiraya needs to end things quickly and I don't have the time to train him that much"

Izumi was silent for a while as they both stared at the snoozing Kakashi

"What if you went instead?" she asked excitedly "Spar with Jiraya for a while and you'll be as good as new"

"That's my best bet" he nodded in acceptance after a few lingering moments of silence

"Alright time for bed" she announced as she bent down to wake Kakashi up

"What?" Kakashi moaned as he rubbed his eyes sleepily

"Do you want to sleep on the kitchen table?" Izumi asked

Kakashi immediately teleported himself to and changed his clothes faster than when he eats. "_I haven't been this tired since my ANBU days after the Kyyubi attack" he thought as a yawn escaped his lips_

Kakashi slept on the spot into a dreamless sleep, unlike Akio.


	11. Chapter 11

Kakashi was staring outside his bedroom windows. Dark clouds were rolling in indicating that a big storm was coming. Kakashi sighed and ran a hand through his messy silver hair. Grabbing his forehead protector Kakashi began walking through the winding corridors.

The site that greeted him was of Akio staring outside the window too.

"Looks like a storm is coming" he murmured

"Heavy one too" Kakashi commented as he pulled the chair away and sat down

A silence hung over the kitchen while Kakashi ate his eggs. Akio was too busy in his own thoughts and didn't notice Izumi calling him.

"Akio!" Izumi ran to her husband and shook him. He snapped back to reality and looked around to find Izumi's worried face and Kakashi's confused one.

"Did you hear from Jiraya?" Akio asked

"Not since the last message" Izumi shook her head and pulled Akio to a chair so he could sit down

"Jiraya?" Kakashi was surprised "Isn't he coming tomorrow?"

"A change of plans" Izumi answered "He said he was going to encounter an Akatsuki member and arrive this morning"

"He should be here by now" Akio cursed and started pacing around the kitchen. As another silence hung over the room similar to the rolling clouds, a poof of smoke emerged on the kitchen floor

"What?" Izumi was shocked especially since she saw a very tiny frog

"Never seen a frog before?" he asked annoyed

"Jiraya!" Kakashi and Akio shouted at the same time

"He's in danger and needs your help, Akio" the frog announced "He's in the rain village currently"

"That's not far from here" Izumi said however Akio didn't even listen to her as he already went to get ready for battle

As Akio walked out the door Kakashi ran to him "I'm coming too" he stated

"No" Akio ordered him "You'll get in the way. If this opponent is strong enough to give Jiraya trouble, you'll probably be more of burden than any help at all"

"But…" Kakashi began but couldn't argue with Akio's logic. Jiraya beat him easily in a friendly spar, he couldn't imagine the frog sannin in his best and having trouble.

Akio bit his thumb and performed the summoning seals. Out of thin air a huge dragon emerged on the grounds. It was a brown horned dragon with a spiked tail and was as tall as the mountains.

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise "Dragon!" he whispered in shock staring at the majestic creature in front of him

"Akio?" his voice rumbled through the valley

"Jiraya is in trouble in the rain country" Akio informed it "We need to go! NOW!"

Without another word the dragon took flight and was out of sight in seconds. Kakashi wasn't about to lie down and wait for Akio and Jiraya to come back. Jiraya might need medical attention.

"Izumi chan" Kakashi addressed her "I'm going to inform Tsunade of the danger Jiraya is in so she can prepare a medical team for Jiraya"

"That would be for the best" Izumi nodded in acceptance "I'll tell Akio to take Jiraya there if he doesn't do that"

Kakashi nodded and bounded of ion the forest at his fastest pace.

"Not fast enough!" he cursed and tried to think of a way to reach Konoha faster. Jiraya and Kakashi came her at a relaxed pace in approximately eight hours, if he continued at this grueling rapid pace, he'll be able to cut around three hours.

"That's five hours of travel without preparations'" Kakashi muttered.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Sensei, can you teleport people with you?" a ten year old Kakashi asked his blonde haired sensei who was currently gulfing ramen_

"_That's extremely difficult" Minato answered "I can't even transport a full bag without it getting damaged somehow"_

"_But what would you do if somebody needed you to get help from Konoha when you are far away from the village" Kakashi inquired_

"_I ride a frog" Minato smiled_

"_Not everybody has frog summons" Kakashi pointed out_

"_Ah!" Minato accepted his student's point of view "Then I would teleport myself and get the help for him, or send a summon to do it for me"_

"_Teleportation is limited" Kakashi said "I can barely make it form my room to the market three blocks down the street"_

"_Then a summon" Minato answered "Until you get ridiculously better anyhow"_

"_So I send them a notice before my arrival" Kakashi summarized using all the logic a ten year old could muster_

_Minato nodded and ruffled his hair "Then you hope for the best and pray everything goes alright"_

"_But don't you need to summon an animal to yourself." Kakashi asked "What good would it do to have your summon run beside you?"_

"_There is a special type of contract in order to do that" Minato smiled "Your animal needs to be able to have a standard drop off somewhere"_

"_Huh?" Kakashi asked in a high yet cute voice_

"_How can I make this simple" Minato rubbed under his chin "You make a round small seal that is between you and a summon, that way if your summon is required to disappear somewhere he could teleport to your small seal and send a message faster"_

"_Can you teach me?" Kakashi was excited "Pakkun will be able to do it"_

"_Sure" Minato smiled "We'll do it in your apartment so you can always have Pakkun around"_

* * *

"Summoning Jutsu!" Kakashi yelled as Pakkun emerged from the smoke. Even though he hasn't used that method in such a long time, he still has the seal on his roof"

"What's up?" Pakkun saluted

"No time" Kakashi answered and continued his way to the village "Do you remember how to teleport to my roof?"

"Of course" Pakkun was offended as he ran beside Kakashi

"I need you to go there and tell Tsunade sama Jiraya encountered some trouble. Akio is going to help Jiraya and come to Konoha for treatment." Kakashi replied

"Hai" and Pakkun disappeared just as fast as he came

"Jiraya" Kakashi sighed and continued tearing through the jungle

* * *

Akio reached the rain village in seven minutes flat. "I forgot how fast you can be, Ryuu" Akio complemented and searched for signs of battle

"There" the dragon roared and flew in the direction of the small smoke he saw on the tallest building there.

Akio saw Jiraya surrounded by three bodies with orange hair. What distinguished them were there purple swirling eyes. Jiraya was bleeding in some places and had some nasty looking wounds. The frog mode was helping go on but the battle won't be able to continue for more than two hours.

"Rinnegan" the dragon muttered as he sent his tail colliding with one of the pain's who couldn't manage to doge and ended up dying

"Akio!" Jiraya sighed in relief "They have a shared field of vision"

"Understood" Akio nodded

Jiraya and Akio began fighting simultaneously and even Nagato couldn't keep up with the series of attacks. Jiraya and Akio's teamwork was flawless "Just like old times" Jiraya smiled knowing everything will work out now. Not to mention he discovered Pain's secret.

* * *

Tsunade was currently staring outside her office window. She had this bad feeling that didn't die down. Jiraya left on a danger mission and she feared the worst.

Suddenly the door was bolted open and Shizune ran inside with Pakkun at her heels

"Jiraya and Akio are fighting a member of Akatsuki and might need medical assistance upon their arrival" Shizune blurted out

Tsuande's eyes widened. "Prepare our best medics at the village gates and have two operation rooms ready just in case" She knew that Jiraya wanted to find information on the Akatsuki leader. A leader of S-ranked criminals most be insanely strong and wasn't an opponent to take lightly. Even if it was Akio and Jiraya, she wouldn't take chances.


	12. Chapter 12

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she arrived at his training area. Sets of two Naruto clones were scattered around and Tenzou was trying to keep everything under control.

"Sakura?" Naruto's face showed confusion

"Jiraya is fighting the leader of Akatsuki and is in danger." Sakura began. Naruto's mouth opened in shock as she continued "He has a friend called Akio helping him out right now and the odds of them winning are high…"

"Then there is nothing to be afraid of" Naruto said annoyed "Why did you scare me like that?"

"I'm not done" Sakura clenched her fists "Akio arrived a while later after the fight began so Jiraya might be injured"

"Oh" Naruto finally understood

"Let's go to the gate and wait for them" Sakura suggested

Naruto nodded seriously and Tenzou followed them to the gate. Once there they saw a team of medics ready for a full procedure if needed.

Tsunade was talking to a team of ANBU and they ran away from the village to Jiraya's aid with two medics with them for emergencies.

They all waited quietly each hoping for the best. More ninja began arriving soon after the rumors spread. They wanted to make sure that the legendary Jiraya would be alright.

"Reinforcements, huh?" Pein addressed the shinobi

There were only two bodies left. Jiraya managed to kill three bodies before Akio arrived and Ryuu killed off the fourth one.

"Akio, this guy isn't the real person" Jiraya whispered "These are just bodies he uses by sending some sort of signal"

"So if we find the real person…" Akio began

"We'll kill him" Jiraya continued for him as Ryuu blew a blue flame toward one of the remaining bodies

"Also, there is a girl aiding him" Jiraya noted

Akio nodded and jumped back on the back of Ryuu

"Ryuu, we need to end this fast" he told him in urgency

"What do you propose?" Ryuu asked

"Use the fire rings on him until he isn't able to dodge" Akio suggested

Ryuu began flying in all directions spitting out rings of blue fire at his opponent. The rings simply vanished as Pein stood unharmed

"What?" Akio muttered

"He absorbs jutsu" Ryuu said as he continued to pelt flames at Pain "What now?"

"You die!" Pain said as a missile projectile headed towards Ryuu.

Ryuu spun out of the way immediately as the missile crashed in a building. Jiraya tried to hit that Pain with a Rasengan but he simply absorbed it too and sent Jiraya flying into the very same building.

Ryuu began using his tail instead and Pain actually had to dodge this time. Ryuu's tail plummeted down with such force that it rattled the land. Pain formed some seals and a blast was sent towards Akio.

Akio cursed as Ryuu flew upwards at an alarming rate. His tail was hit and the dragon was now having trouble to coordinate with the same skill beforehand.

Akio stared at Jiraya and realized that the man was barely able to stand and his Sage mode was beginning to wear out. The other Pain was sending projectiles at Jiraya who dodged and went into attack mode.

Akio began forming the mini black hole of concentrated chakra

"Let's see if you can absorb this!" Akio shouted as he sent it spiraling at Pain. Ryuu grabbed Akio and flew high in order to avoid an extra injury.

After the blast the annoying Pain who kept sending projectiles was dead. The main Pain was in a mess afterwards. His clothes were torn from various places but he managed to surprise them even then.

Pain began hurtling rock at the dragon at a very fast speed while creating a ball of concentrated rock and soil. After having a rock the size of a lake he threw it at Akio.

Ryuu was hit and poofed away since he no longer had energy to stay in the fight. Akio soared down and the minute he landed on the ground, Pain attacked him from the behind. Akio was blown away while Jiraya managed to allow his Rasengan to collide with Pain.

After the dust cleared, the last body of Pain was unresponsive and so was Akio. Jiraya panicked and ran towards the man. He noticed a very nasty wound on his head that was spilling out too much blood.

"Damn it!" Jiraya cursed as he began tearing a piece of cloth and tie it around Akio's head in order to control the bleeding.

The Anbu reinforcements finally arrived and the medics began healing Akio.

Jiraya didn't linger and immediately began filling out orders

"I need two Anbu to come with me and defeat the real Pain while the others protect the medic and Akio." Jiraya ordered

The ANBU nodded and bounded away with Jiraya.

One of the medics began controlling the bleeding while the other stitched up the wound

Jiraya and the ANBU arrived at the tallest tower. Jiraya began forming Rasengan and crashed into the building.

"Nagato!" Jiraya yelled out. Jiraya's eyes widened in surprise when he set his eyes on Nagato. His body was extremely slim and his ribs were sticking out. The woman he saw earlier was crouched in defensive mode now that they stopped her from unbinding Nagato from whatever contraption held him into place

"Jiraya sensei" Nagato acknowledged "Long time no see"

"I thought you were dead" Jiraya commented "What have you done to yourself?"

"I learned that ninja only bring hate and war to the world." Pain explained "I will create peace in this world whether I have to rule by fear or not"

"This isn't how you find peace" Jiraya debated as the ANBU's fight with Konan filled the sound in the background

"Then what way is there?" Pain mocked "This is the only way"

"This is not what I taught you" Jiraya said

"You abandoned us" Pein coughed due to his body's extreme lack in energy "What do you think happened after you left?"

"Like I said, I heard you died" Jiraya clarified "If I had known you were alive I would've helped you"

"It's too late now" Nagato said "I will make you feel pain"

"I'm already in Pain" Jiraya sighed as he looked at his once cherished student "Seeing you like this hurts me more than anything else"

"Those are just empty words" Pain began coughing again. His body ached with every word he uttered.

"It's not too late" Jiraya tried to convince him "Come to our side"

"Akatsuki seek world peace" Pain answered

"Nagato…" Jiraya began

"ENOGUH!" he yelled "time to feel pain"

His eyes stared coldly at Jiraya.

"Nagato!" Konan yelled trying to stop him. This jutsu could kill him. Was he this willing to kill Jiraya sensei?

"Answer me this, Jiraya sensei" Nagato asked "How will you find peace in a world that only breeds hatred"

"I don't know" Jiraya answered truthfully "But I have entrusted another and I am positive he will find the answer"

"Who is that?" Pein asked "A pity Konoha ninja?"

"My new subordinate, Uzumaki Naruto!" Jiraya said his name with pride

"The Kyyubi container" Nagato acknowledged

"He never gives up and he will find the answer" Jiraya said

Nagato's body began shutting down due to exhaustion. "What's going on?" Pein muttered

"Nagato!" Konan cried as she fled he battle with ANBU and held him close to her

"What's happening" an ANBU operative asked in confusion

"His body appears to have taken a blow from Akio's earlier jutsu" Jiraya explained "This jutsu slowly destroys the body if some contact is reached since it sends spikes of chakra"

"What do we do with the girl?" the ANBU asked

"The only reason I joined Akatsuki was because I wanted Nagato to have somebody close to him" Konan explained "If I give you information would you just let me live on in peace"

"Why would we trust and Akatsuki?" the ANBU retorted

"I hate the organization and begged Nagato to leave multiple times but he believed this is the only way to find peace. My goal in life is to help him stand and achieve his goals and since he's dead I no longer have ties to this organization" she replied

"I don't believe…" the ANBU began but Jiraya nodded. "Give us information and you will be free"

"Jiraya sama?" the ANBU was surprised

"I know her" Jiraya smiled sadly "and I believe her"

"_To trust the enemy no matter what is foolish" the ANBU thought "But I trust Jiraya"_

"Let's go back to Akio" Jiraya ordered

Konan covered Nagato with paper and decided to bury him next to Yuhiko (the other member of their group).

While Konan buried Nagato, Jiraya checked up on Akio. He was currently Akio cursing at his forgotten non used abilities

Jiraya laughed and patted him on the back.

An ANBU appeared and gave a report "We sent a message back to Tsunade sama. The woman, Konan, is currently being escorted by my teammates as you requested."

"Good" Jiraya nodded and the ANBU disappeared "We should head back"

Akio nodded and they both rode a frog back to Konoha.

* * *

Kakashi was almost at Konoha. He could see the gates and was wondering why there were so many people at the gate

"Kakashi?" Tsunade asked surprised once he arrived

"What's with all the people?" he asked suspiciously

"Sensei!" Naruto and Sakura yelled as they joined them "We're here to make sure ero senin is alright!"

"Oh" Kakashi nodded "Any news?"

"Not yet" Tsunade answered. Just as she said that a messenger bird came down. Tsunade opened the letter:

Pein is dead. Akatsuki female Konan captured peacefully and coming for interrogation. Jiraya and Akio have several injuries but can manage after medical help from team.

The letter burned after being read and Tsunade nodded in satisfaction

"Everything is fine" Tsunade sighed and the people, currently in relief, left happy to know that Jiraya is unharmed


	13. Chapter 13

Akio slowly began regaining awareness of his surroundings. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and looked around at the clear white room. "Where am I?" he muttered

"Konoha's hospital" Kakashi answered and Akio turned towards the source of the sound. He saw Jiraya sitting on the opposite bed with bandages decorating him from head to toe yet was smiling at him like an idiot.

There was a blonde boy sitting in chair next to him with a look of curiosity on his face as he stared at Akio. He had whisker like marks on his cheeks and had icy blue eyes. Akio guessed him to be Naruto, the Kyyubi kid.

Finally, Kakashi was leaning on the wall next to the boy. He advanced towards Akio and handed him a glass of water

Akio muttered his thanks and gulped the whole thing down.

"Sorry about the trouble" Jiraya kept his idiotic grin in place

"It's fine" Akio replied with a small smile "Did you manage to kill Pein?"

"Actually you did" Jiraya answered smirking at Akio's surprised look "That mini ball of doom or whatever sort of destroyed his body from the inside as your chakra destroyed everything it contacted with"

Naruto's eyes widened in amazement. "That's AWESOME!" he yelled as he pumped a fist into the air

"This is a hospital" Kakashi said with a hint of annoyance in his voice

"Sorry sensei" Naruto held up his hands in defeat "Got excited that's all" and he proceeded to rub the back of his head, a habit he picked up from Kakashi and Shikamaru.

"You must be Naruto?" Akio smiled friendly

"Hai!" Naruto answered enthusiastically "I'm going to become Hokage one day and surpass all the previous ones"

"Do you have to say that every time you introduce yourself" Jiraya laughed

"I have to let people know they are in the presence of a great future Hokage" Naruto gleefully answered.

"And I thought Kakashi was a migraine" Akio mumbled loud enough for everybody to hear

Jiraya let out a bark of laughter while Kakashi glared at Akio and Naruto, as usual, was confused

"How was the training anyhow?" Jiraya asked

"What can I say…" Akio sighed as if in deep thought

"What training?" Naruto shouted "Tell me what's going on"

"Well you see, Naruto" Jiraya began "Kakashi is training under Akio and…"

"WAIT!" Naruto turned to Kakashi "You abandoned my training to go train yourself! No fair you're strong as it is I'm the one that needs training" he pointed an accusing finger at him

"Kakashi?" Akio asked in disbelief "Strong?" and he began laughing as if Naruto said some kind of joke

"It's not my fault you're insanely strong and almost everybody compared to you is weak" Kakashi grumbled

Naruto was shocked. Somebody actually said that his sensei, the Copy ninja, sharingan Kakashi, was weak??

"Seriously, Akio" Jiraya smiled "How is he?"

"I'm right here you know" Kakashi pointed out

Akio smiled as his laughter died out "Ah yes, he's… average"

"Average?" Kakashi was annoyed by the word used. He was used to being called a genius all his life and Akio comes by and considers him average. Well it is from Akio so he should regard it as a compliment

"Really?" Jiraya was amused

"Kakashi sensei is really smart" Naruto commented "Who do you think you are to say otherwise?"

Kakashi smiled at his student and chuckled. Naruto in turn turned around confused as to why.

"Naruto" Kakashi answered his unspoken question "Akio is stronger than Jiraya, being average in his book is actually being strong"

Naruto took a second to comprehend what was said to him than folded his arms "I still think he shows off"

Akio smiled at Naruto and was interested in his personality. He was defiantly exciting to be around.

The door opened as Tsunade and Sakura stepped inside.

"I see you're awake" Tsunade smiled.

Akio was shocked to see her looking exactly the same way she did around thirty years ago. "Let me guess" Akio said "Aging jutsu"

Tsunade nodded as she checked over some charts while Sakura stood next to Naruto and whispered "Is this Jiraya's friend?"

Naruto nodded "his name is Akio and he's been training Kakashi sensei"

"Really?" Sakura was surprised

"Yeah" Naruto replied seriously "He called sensei average"

"He must be really strong then" Sakura guessed

"Obviously" came Jiraya's reply as both teenagers jumped

"Having a conversation in a room full of skilled shinobi is not the best idea if you want it to be a secret" Akio commented "Although Kakashi isn't really that skilled"

"Now you're just messing with me" Kakashi glared at Akio

Akio smirked at him while Sakura stood there just as confused as Naruto was before

"Alright , can you leave so I can have a private discussion with Akio and Jiraya" Tsunade ordered

Naruto and Sakura nodded glad to escape this weird environment and were surprised to see Kakashi follow them out

"Sensei?" Sakura asked

Kakashi hnned as they exited the hospital. It was nice to be outside again. Children were running around with fake swords oblivious to the world around them

"Why didn't you stay?" she asked

"She clearly said she wanted to talk to Jiraya and Akio" Kakashi shrugged in response as they began walking towards the ramen shop

"_Now that I think about it" Sakura thought "Tsunade sama, Jiraya sama and Akio sama must see Kakashi as a kid too. Jiraya and Tsunade were already in their late twenties when Kakashi was born. Akio must be very old as well considering he lived through the second shinobi war. The difference in their age is more than the difference between us and Kakashi sensei. Not to mention all of them are incredibly strong. And if Akio is training Kakashi sensei then he is probably incredibly skilled as well"_

"Sakura!" Naruto waved his hands in front of her to gain her attention. That seemed to work because Sakura snapped back to reality "Are you alright?" Naruto asked loudly

"Oh sorry" she laughed nervously "Lost in my thoughts"

Naruto seemed to accept the answer and proceeded to talk about Ichiruka's menu. "For breakfast, Ichiruka has this ramen with ….

"How many times to I have to tell you it's not healthy to only eat ramen" Sakura scolded

"It's the best" Naruto answered "How can you not have ramen?"

"I think we'll manage without ramen for a few days" Kakashi answered as they stepped into the stand

"More like months" Sakura added

Naruto fell down from his chair "No ramen…. For a month?"

Sakura shook her head in dismay and ordered some miso ramen.

"So how's your training, Kakashi sensei?" Sakura asked no longer able to hide her curiosity

"Just like any other" Kakashi answered

"_DAMN IT! Sensei never gives a good answer" Inner Sakura yelled_

"But if it's from somebody as strong as ero senin he must be teaching you something cool" Naruto answered his mouth dripping with noodles

"Close your mouth when you speak!!" Sakura hit him on the head. When they turned around Kakashi had already finished his meal

"I guess" Kakashi shrugged as he pushed the bowl away from him

"How about we go to our training field and spar a little?" Naruto suggested as he continued to eat his fifth bowl

"That sounds great!" Sakura nodded in acceptance and they turned to Kakashi to get his answer

"Um.. well" Kakashi thought about it. He wanted to go to Jiraya and ask him about his plans. Then again a little spar wouldn't hurt.

"Alright" he finally answered

"How's Jiraya sama" asked the old man as he handed Kakashi the bill how sighed at the amount of money he owed him

"He's fine" Naruto answered as he jumped down from his chair and rubbed his stomach "Nothing stops him!"

"KAKASHI!!" A chunin yelled as he made his way around the crowd

Kakashi paid the bill and waiting from the chunin to catch his breath

"Saratobi Asuma" the chunin finally said "is dead"

Everybody's eyes widened at the news

"No way" Sakura whispered already feeling sorry for her rival, Ino

"All jounins are too meet in Tsunade sama's office" the chunin reported and jumped away

Images of his smoking idiot of a friend filled him up with dread and he remembered the first time he met him

_FLASHBACK_

_A five year old Kakashi was sitting outside the Hokage's office waiting for his father to finish his discussion. His dad had promised him to take him out for dinner and Kakashi always looked forward to spend time with his father since he is always away on missions_

"_What are you doing here kid?" a brown haired kid asked as he pointed at Kakashi. He looked to be older than himself by only two years or so_

"_You're a kid as well, idiot" Kakashi replied _

_The kid seemed unfazed "I'm the son of the Hokage, Saratobi Asuma" he announced proudly_

"_Hatake Kakashi" Kakashi replied as Asuma sat down next to him_

"_The white fang's your father?" he asked_

"_Doesn't the silver hair give it away?" Kakashi asked annoyed_

_Asuma laughed "What are you doing here anyways?"_

"_I'm waiting for my dad to finish his meeting" Kakashi answered "It's been an hour and a half"_

"_I'm waiting for dad as well" Asuma stated "He's always busy, it's so unfair"_

"_I know what you mean" Kakashi mumbled_

"_Guess that's the price to pay to having are parents such strong shinobi in the middle of a war" Asuma sighed as he joined his hand at the back of his head and laid back_

_A shinobi with black short hair passed them as he went down the corridor. He seemed shocked to see two little kids sitting in front of the Hokage's office. The smoke from his cigarette lingered in the halls_

_Kakashi started coughing while Asuma took in the smell_

"_Isn't it cool?" he asked "Smoking I mean"_

"_Cool?" Kakashi asked in disbelief "I think it's unhealthy and suffocating"_

"_Nah" Asuma answered in his laid back attitude "I think it cool. Once I'm fifteen I'm going to buy some"_

"_Why wait till fifteen?" Kakashi asked_

"_Because there is an age limitation" Asuma replied nonchalantly "Besides its not cool on a seven year old now is it?"_

"_You're weird" Kakashi replied_

"_You're the one with silver hair and a mask" Asuma retorted "DO you have a deformed face or something?"_

"_No I don't" Kakashi shook his head "It makes me more terrifying as a ninja"_

"_You should take the forehead protector off by the way" Asuma advised "People nowadays don't take kindly to kids plying ninjas"_

"_I'm not playing" Kakashi growled "I'm a genin"_

_Asuma started laughing uncontrollably "You..." he pointed at Kakashi while rubbing away a tear "a ninja?"_

"_Age doesn't determine skill!" Kakashi shouted annoyed. He hated the fact that people over underestimated him because of his age_

"_Whatever you say" Asuma held up his hands in defeat while sniggering_

"_I'll prove it" Kakashi was unconvinced of Asuma's acceptance_

"_Create five bunshin and I'll believe ya" Asuma smiled_

_Kakashi didn't waste time to perform the seal "Bunshin jutsu. After the smoke cleared, seven replicas of a cute silver haired seven year old were smirking_

"_No way" Asuma stared in awe_

"_Now you believe me?" Kakashi grinned_

"_Hai" Asuma smiled returning to his normal self as the bunshins disappeared once more_

"Asuma…" Kakashi thoughts trailed as he left for Tsunade's office


	14. Chapter 14

"The situation is becoming graver by the day" Tsunade sighed

"We'll abolish Akatsuki once and for all" declared an ignorant chunin

Murmurs of disapproval rang across the office

"Come on guys!" the same ninja said "We defeated their leader!" waving his hands all over the place

"Correction, Jiraya and Akio sama defeated their leader and THEY had trouble" another black haired jounin answered

"ENOUGH!" bellowed Tsunade "Are we going to give up our will of fire after we've come so far?"

Nobody dared to disagree with Tsunade

"We will show them that we aren't a bunch of wimps!" she declared "We will show them what Konoha is made of and will never sell out our own jinchuriki!" she glared at all the ninja present and her eyes lingered on Kakashi. He was currently hiding in the shadows next to some of his ANBU colleges staring outside the window. It wasn't clear whether he was listening to her or not.

Despite that fact, the other ninja were now back on track each determined to end Akatsuki once and for all.

"The funeral for Asuma will be tomorrow at five on the tower" she finally stated "Everybody except Kakashi is dismissed"

Some people poofed away immediately while other lets their eyes linger on Kakashi curiously. Some low leveled chunin were in shook since they never noticed the silver haired man who usually stands out in a crowd and left hurriedly through the door like gentlemen.

Kakashi was either unaware of his comrades' reactions or decided to ignore them but it was probably that he didn't care at the current moment. Once everybody was gone Tsunade motioned for Kakashi to take a chair. Kakashi reluctantly sat down and waited for Tsunade to speak.

"Kakashi" she finally said "I want you to continue training for the next few days" Kakashi nodded in turn as she continued to speak. "I want you to perfect what Akio taught you since you'll join them in their hunts of stronger members while large groups will attack the remaining Akatsuki members

"Hai" Kakashi nodded again. A silence hung over the room and Kakashi took that as his cue to leave. Just as he was about to open the door Tsunade spoke up "Go visit Jiraya and Akio while you're at it". Nodding for the last time Kakashi left and headed for the hospital.

"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto yelled as he saw him exit the tower and ran up to him

"Where's Sakura?" he asked as they both began walking towards the hospital

"She went to check up on Ino" Naruto clarified "Looks like things are beginning to heat up"

"Don't worry" Kakashi replied "With me and Jiraya there nobody will get their stinking hands on you"

Naruto smiled "By the way" he started rummaging through his backpack. "aha!" he said with victory as he finally found what he was looking for "Here!" he said handing him a ramen takeaway

Kakashi took it and thanked him "I thought you might still be hungry"

"You were right" Kakashi stated as he stored it away "I'll have it once I'm at the hospital"

"I was going to visit Jiraya anyway so can I tag along?" he asked

Kakashi nodded not sure whether Tsunade simply told him to go there or if it was an arranged meeting. It would have been better to tell Naruto that he wasn't allowed to come but Kakashi wanted Naruto to not be left in the dark.

"Sensei?" Naruto broke the silence "Now that Asuma sensei is gone, how do you think will be next?"

"I don't think killing Asuma was part of their plan" Kakashi supplied

"No" Naruto shook his head "I mean how many more have to die before we get rid of Akatsuki?" then he eyed the ground with guilt. If he wasn't a jinchuriki, Asuma wouldn't have been looking for Akatsuki in the first place

"It's not your fault" Kakashi stated strongly "Whether you had the Kyyubi or not, this is a war we would've been sucked into eventually"

"I guess" Naruto said shoving his hands in his pockets as they turned left with the hospital now in sight

"As long as the ninja system exist, only chains of hatred will be created" Kakashi said

"Jiraya said that before" Naruto stated

"It is his words, not mine" Kakashi sighed and opened the hospital doors

"Did he say them to you?" Naruto asked curiously

"No, my sensei did" Kakashi informed him "And my sensei was taught by Jiraya so naturally…" Kakashi trailed off knowing his message doesn't need to be completed in order for Naruto to understand it. They began walking up the stair cases

"Why?" Naruto whispered staring at the ground right in front of him

"Well…. I lived in a time of war" Kakashi shrugged as if that will explain everything even though it explains nothing.

_FLASHBACK_

"_You need to stop hurting" Minato said as he jumped through Kakashi's window. Kakashi was currently on his desk writing notes on his new jutsu. _

"_Where did that come from?" Kakashi asked calmly putting his pen down and turned to face his sensei_

"_I can see it in your eyes" Minato stated. Well he could only see his eyes but that's beside the point_

"_Oh! Of course you can" Kakashi rolled his eyes and went back to his notes_

"_Kakashi" Minato continued unfazed by his student's lack of acceptance "You need to stop all the hate"_

"_You want me to…" Kakashi was laughing now "stop hating the people who brought me nothing but misery_

_Minato simply nodded while Kakashi continued his laugher as if Minato was saying a joke_

_Kakashi immediately glared at him "You're kidding!"_

"_I know you find it hard especially since they don't treat you right but…"_

"_but what sensei?" Kakashi yelled. Minato opened his mouth to speak but Kakashi stopped him "BUT NOTHING!"_

"_Kakashi clam down and hear me out" Minato demanded. Kakashi knew that there was no arguing with that tone unless you wanted to be punished big. Apparently sensei's punishment isn't being ground but what you hate the most. His latest being D ranked missions and helping out in the academy_

"_Fine" Kakashi folded his arms and grumbled_

"_I know the way the villagers treat you is unfair, extremely inappropriate however if you give in you'll only become a part of the chain of hatred that's only purpose is to create monsters" he said_

"_Are you saying that if I give in to the villagers scorn, I'll turn into a monster?" Kakashi asked narrowing his eyes_

"_Precisely" Minato nodded eyeing his student carefully "Jiraya's words"_

"_If you want me to take what you're saying seriously" Kakashi said "Don't mention they're from Konoha's biggest pervert"_

"_Jiraya might be a pervert, Kakashi" Minato sated "However he is a great shinobi"_

_Kakashi remained dormant this time. Minato sighed "Just think about what I said"_

_Kakashi nodded and went back to creating chidori. Chain of hatred? Whatever…_

"I heard about Asuma" Jiraya smiled sadly as Naruto and Kakashi entered

"Tragic loss" Kakashi muttered as he sat down on of the chairs

"So what now?" Izumi asked. Kakashi turned to her in surprise. He hadn't seen her, when did she come back.

"Once we get out of the hospital we will train a bit then go and end Akatsuki" Akio answered

"It isn't that simple!" Kakashi stated rather angrily "If one person regardless of whether he is the leader or not gave you this much trouble, you expect things to work out?"

Naruto never saw his sensei outburst before but he agreed with him anyway. It's very dangerous and if Jiraya died he wouldn't know what to do

"Calm down" Jiraya told him "We know it'll be difficult but it must be done"

"Near impossible is a better term regarding this situation" Kakashi grumbled silently that only Naruto heard him

"Here" Izumi said walking over to Kakashi "You left in such a hurry you forgot your journal"

Kakashi extended his hand to take it a flipped through it. One of the pictures fell out and Naruto reached to grab it. He turned it over and saw his old team.

"I wish those days would come back" he smiled sadly and gave it to his sensei

"I gotta go" Kakashi sighed and poofed away before anybody could stop him. He turned up at his apartment and flopped down on his bed. After spending five minutes staring at his white ceiling Kakashi ran a hand through his messy hair and went into the shower.

The hot water was washing his troubles away. He reached for his shampoo and began scrubbing his hair watching the murky water sink down the drain. He believed that he could defeat the Akatsuki individually but there was really no chance to attack them all at once.

He closed the water and dried himself off. He put on his night clothes and crawled into bed hoping that things will work out.


	15. Chapter 15

The sound of birds outside his window woke Kakashi up yet he ignored it and tried to fall back to sleep. He turned towards his clock and it read eleven pm. Well that sucks! The sound of birds was becoming unbearable and Kakashi knew he had no chance of going back to sleep.

Cursing nature he rested his feet on the floor and pulled the covers away. He got up and scratched the back of his head while advancing towards the kitchen. He began making himself a cup of coffee and some cereal.

After eating and getting dressed Kakashi exited his apartment and headed for the memorial stone. It was already noon and Kakashi never felt more groggy.

"Hey Obito" he said "Looks like Asuma joined you now… I feel left out" he chuckled to himself "Don't worry sensei, no matter what, I'll protect Naruto, it's a promise of a life time"

After half an hour, Sakura arrived at the memorial stone and noticed her sensei staring blankly at the stone. Tsunade told her to call her sensei but now looked like a bad time.

"Sensei?" she asked hesitantly.

Kakashi hmmed in response dug his hands in his pockets and turning around.

"Tsunade sama requires your presence in her office" she informed him. Kakashi sighed out loud showing his displeasure rather clearly. He formed the seals necessary for a shunshin and reappeared at Tsunade's office.

"Are you training?" she asked not bothering to lift her head from the mountain of paper work.

"I was going to before you called me" he murmured

"Its noon" she raised her voice glaring at him.

Kakashi chuckled nervously "Well you see… I .."

"No excuses" she barked "Go train until your feet bleed"

"But I was going to" Kakashi complained

"It takes you all morning to get to it" she shouted "There is no time for that" she slammed her hands on the desk.

Before Kakashi could retort and knock sounded on the door.

Tsunade rubbed her temples and sat down before calling the person in.

Anko stepped in staring at Kakashi curiously before shrugging her curiosity off, figuring he was just being an idiot like usual

"The Akatsuki members described by Kotetsu were located in sector B-12." She announced "What course of action shall we take?"

Tsunade began to think for a while before coming to her conclusion "I want you to lead two squads to attack them. Take Gai, Genma, Udon, Teshika, Yuri, another medic and a tracker"

"What about Kakashi?" she pointed at him. Kakashi was currently musing over her selections acting oblivious to her remark

"He has other things to do" Tsunade snapped "get to it! NOW!"

Anko disappeared leaving only Kakashi and Tsunade in the office.

"Maybe I should go now" Kakashi suggested while Tsunade tapped her fingers in the desk continuously for some unknown reason

"I want you to find your father's old scrolls" she ignored his previous comment. "Until Akio leaves the hospital" Kakashi nodded "I suggest finding skills that don't require a lot of chakra like swords"

"Duly noted" he muttered.

"Well?" Tsunade asked irritated looking at Kakashi for his response

"Well what?" he asked

"GET GOING!" she shouted and Kakashi disappeared immediately. "Unbelievable" she muttered

_____________________________  
"It's been a long time since I've been here" he sighed as he looked up at his old two story house. Vines were crawling up the walls and twisting abnormally. The windows were covered with grime and the door was cracked. The paint was barely visible as nature corroded away the color. Weeds were sprouting all over the garden and the small pond which had a few fish swimming in it was now murky due to the rubbish at the bottom.

Kakashi used to enjoy watching the fish swim in circles and at times swam with them during a hot summer day even if he could reach the other side in one stretch.

Kakashi opened the gate which creaked audibly and was nearly knocked off its hinges. Kakashi walked up the rocked path up to his house. He used to believe he lived in a mansion when he was younger; currently this place is a curse.

Kakashi opened the door and was greeted by his old living room. The fire place was extremely dusty and the picture of his grandfather was hanging loosely on the wall. Kakashi ignored everything he saw until he reached his father's study. Kakashi remembered the last time he stood in front of this screen.

_FLASHBACK_

"_I can't believe Hokage sama allowed the Hatake kid to still be a ninja after what her father did" a man whispered _

"_If the higher ups want what is good for us, they'll forbid him from wearing that headband" a woman agreed._

_Kakashi began running away from all the comments, the hateful eyes, his father's shadow, the kids his ages that never accepted him and everything else. Why did his father have to fail that last mission?_

_Kakashi kept running until he reached a cave he comes to when he got bullied, his father stayed away on a mission too long or simply having a bad day. It was his solace, overlooking Konoha on the left and the forest on the right._

_He let his tears fall as his sobs echoed back to him. It began raining and a storm rolled over Konoha. The thunder covered Kakashi's cries and bellowed down on the city._

_After two hours or so, Kakashi began walking back to his house not wanting to worry his father about his absence. Kakashi scoffed at the idea of his father caring about anything nowadays. He was probably too drunk to realize Kakashi was missing._

_The storm got worse and Kakashi ran to his house and opened the door knob squinting his eyes because of the darkness._

"_Tousan?" he asked shakily rubbing his eyes and fishing for the light. Finally finding the switch the house regained some life. "Tousan!" he shouted taking off his shoes and dumping his bag next to the door._

_He went into the kitchen to find it bare some glass was splattered on the floor. Kakashi sighed and left the pieces on the ground and continued his search_

_He approached the study and went to grab pull the screen before freezing in his spot. He smelled blood, lots of it. Kakashi gulped in fear and shakily pushed the screen away stepping into the dark room._

_He saw a dark figuring curled in the corner. Kakashi knew it was his father and saw the small puddle of blood streaming out of him. The lighting flashed outside and Kakashi saw his father's cold eyes staring back at his own._

_Kakashi was immobilized in fear as he approached the body. He shook his body weakly "Wake up, Daddy" he choked on his tears _

"_Don't leave me alone" Kakashi hiccupped "I don't wanna be alone". When he got no response he started shaking him even harder_

"_Daddy!" he shouted "Daddy please…" the rain began pouring down harder and harder with each passing second._

_Kakashi dropped down to his knees landing in the puddle of blood while sobbing uncontrollably. He huddled next to his father ignoring the blood and gore around him. Kakashi clenched his father's chest and kept crying until he fell asleep._

_When he woke up, he was at his sensei's house and never went back ever again as this memory haunted him for the rest of his life_

Kakashi began rummaging through some papers staring at the chalk diagram of where his father once lay.


	16. Chapter 16

"So many jutsus" Kakashi sighed as he began looking through the shelves. He began imagining writing all his jutsus down and laughed at his own ridicules idea. Writing his jutsus would take months not to mention he learns new ones almost every day.

"Finally" he said revealed as he found a jutsu that deals with swords. "This will help me defeat Akio next time" he smirked. He made his exit and took one last glimpse at the chalk diagram. "Thank you, father" he whispered and closed the door and left his house.

"Ramen!" Naruto yelled as he dug in his bowl "Just what I need before I continue training" he smiled and finally set the bowl down letting out a huge sigh.

"Do you ever eat anything other than ramen?" Kiba inquired as his team joined him

"It's the best!" he said with glee and began gobbling down another bowl "What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to get Kurenai sensei some food" Shino said in his creepy voice which everybody got used to by now

"Why doesn't she come here herself?" he asked curiously

"Naruto… are you serious" Kiba asked "You're not THAT dense"

"Shut up, KIBA!" Naruto glared at him

"Naruto kun…" Hinata whispered "Kurenai sensei and Asuma were in love"

"Oh…" realization dawned at Naruto "Kakashi sensei is taking it pretty hard as well"

"She's also pregnant" Kiba added

"WHAT!!!" Naruto shouted ramen flying out of his mouth

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOU YELL!" Kiba hollered

"IT'S YOUR FAULT!" Naruto yelled back "WHO TELLS A PERSON THAT KIND OF NEWS WHEN THEY ARE EATING OTHER THAN AN IDIOT LIKE YOU"

Naruto and Kiba kept going back and forth for a while. Shino ate his ramen ignoring both boys while Hinata was telling them to stop it so quietly that not even Shino heard her

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked cracking her knuckles

Suddenly both Kiba and Naruto stopped looking angelic as possible. Sakura narrowed her eyes dangerously as they both sat back down avoiding eye contact.

"Want to join us, Sakura chan?" Hinata proposed

"No thanks" Sakura sighed "We have to go train" and she proceeded to glare at Naruto

"Opps" Naruto rubbed his head nervously. While Sakura kept glaring at him Naruto paid his bill and left with her

"I can't believe you forgot" Sakura grumbled "I've been waiting for you"

"I did remember" Naruto insisted "But hearing that Kurenai sensei is pregnant made me forget"

"I heard too" she sighed "Poor Asuma sensei"

When they approached the training grounds they heard the clinking of metal in the field next to theirs

"Looks like somebody is training in seclusion as well" Sakura noted

"It's better to be far from the village sometime" Naruto commented "Keeps your mind of things for a while" he put his hands behind his head and continued walking. Naruto suddenly stopped when he heard a crash from the other side

"Let's go" he beckoned Sakura and was going to jump away when Sakura stopped

"Naruto…" she reasoned "You create explosions all the time when you train"

"Not when using swords" he explained

"Maybe some people are sparring" she sighed at her teammate

"I'm going to check it out anyway" he said adamantly and jumped away. Sakura rubbed her forehead in dismay before following Naruto

When they arrived they saw a mini tornado destroying everything in its path. Some swords were sticking out and had some chakra coating the edges in order to increase their destruction power other than the speed the user was going at

"That's so cool" Naruto whispered to Sakura who was also in awe.

After a while the user lost control and fell in the lake nearby.

Naruto chuckled while Sakura glared at him. They both jumped down to help the poor shinobi when he got up.

While they were waiting Kakashi sprung out breathing heavily

"Kakashi sensei!" they both exclaimed running to help their sensei

"What are you guys doing here?" he muttered as he shook himself dry running a hand through his hair and shaking it vigorously. He dumped his swords on the ground and sat down while Sakura began questioning him for injuries

"I'm fine, Sakura" he mumbled for the tenth time.

"What is that jutsu?" Naruto asked excitedly

"It doesn't have a name" Kakashi replied thinking back on the faded papers of his father. A lot of the words were missing and it was difficult to completely understand this jutsu especially controlling it.

"You should call it razor tornado" Naruto smiled.

"I guess that'll work" Kakashi shrugged not caring what it was called. He took of his jacket and hung it over a tree to dry off.

"Did you create it?" Sakura asked as she opened her bag and offered her sensei an apple.

Kakashi thanked her and shook his head no.

"Then how come it doesn't have a name?" Naruto accused him "People don't use jutsus in battle fields without giving them a name. It sounds un cool" he folded his arms and stared at his sensei

Kakashi, by then had devoured the apple and was twirling the core deciding to ignore Naruto's question.

When Kakashi remained silent Naruto huffed indigently and sat down next to his sensei annoyed by the lack of response

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" Sakura scolded "You could get hurt and nobody will know, especially when you practice such a destructive and dangerous jutsu"

"I'm pretty capable of handling it" he chuckled at her remark "Besides Chidori was more destructive"

"I think this jutsu beats your chidori in terms of destruction" Sakura shouted pointing at the area which was full of holes and maimed trees.

"I meant destruction towards me" he elaborated "I used to get electrical surges run through me until I got it right in the end"

"AHHH!" Naruto shouted "Now everything makes sense" he smiled

"What?" Kakashi asked not grasping what Naruto had just said

"No wonder your hair sticks out that way, I should've known there was a valid reason behind that" he elaborated smiling

Sakura laughed hole heartedly

"My hair naturally sticks out that way" Kakashi complained

Naruto ignored him and kept making fun of him "It must have burned away into the grey mess you call hair" Sakura busted with laughter while Kakashi had his mouth open slightly in shock. Naruto was grinning like a fool complexly enjoying Kakashi's flustered feeling.

"That's not true" Kakashi finally muttered "My hair is naturally SILVER not grey and naturally defies gravity"

"You know sensei" Sakura said waving her finger around to make her point "It's not healthy to keep denying the truth"

Naruto and Sakura were both laughing widely together. Naruto was clutching his stomach while Sakura began tearing up

"You guys are mean" Kakashi feigned a hurt look which Naruto and Sakura didn't buy at all. "You know that this falls under the category of disrespect" he cautioned

"Yes Sakura, what were you thinking?" Naruto said sarcastically "Respect for the ELDERLY"

The laughter echoed across the grounds. Kakashi sighed realizing that it was pointless to reason with them.

"By the way, sensei…" Sakura said once she finally calmed down "How old are you anyway?"

Naruto immediately drew a look of confusion on his face. They had never bothered to think about that.

"Take a guess" Kakashi smiled friendly

"Fifty!" Naruto chuckled a little

"thirty six?" Sakura guessed.

Kakashi's eyes widened "Thirty six?" he asked in disbelief "Do I actually look this old?"

"Well you can't see your face so we have to judge by your eye only, not to mention you have gray hair" Naruto reasoned

"It's silver" Kakashi sighed annoyingly

"Gray!" Naruto stubbornly said

"Silver" Kakashi was obstinate as well

"I'm pretty sure that your hair is gray" Jiraya chuckled as he jumped down from a tree followed by Akio. They joined them under the shade of the tree.

"It's freaking silver!" Kakashi glared at him

"What are you guys doing out of the hospital?" Sakura asked. She knew they were supposed to leave tomorrow morning not this late afternoon.

"We got released obviously" Jiraya smiled "Nothing can stop the mighty frog sage!" and he made that stupid pose with one leg up and his hands in front doing some weird dance

"And you try and convince me you're not weird" Akio smiled

Naruto laughed "He's still in denial"

"Hey kid, I train you and become your master and this is how you pay me back?" Jiraya shouted playfully

"See my student never disrespects me" Akio smiled victoriously

"Only behind your back" Kakashi chuckled. Akio raised his eyebrows and Kakashi rubbed the back of his head nervously. He really needed to break that habit. He does it when he's thinking hard, when something is bothering him or when he is nervous.

"What happened here anyways?" Jiraya asked looking around the area. Naruto and Sakura pointed at Kakashi who was surveying his own damage as well.

"What were you doing here anyway?" Akio asked half confused and half impressed

"I found this scroll in my father's study and I've been trying it out" Kakashi elaborated "It's a…"

Jiraya interrupted him "What jutsu?" he asked suspiciously

"I don't know it's name" Kakashi explained "The words were fading which is why I'm having trouble controlling it"

"I thought we agreed to call it *razor tornado*" Naruto pointed out

"I thought it was a fitting name" Sakura agreed "Better than chidori"

"You mean the lightning ball?" Akio laughed

"Yes the lighting ball" Kakashi muttered "It's called raikri or chidori, depending on how I use it"

"Oh you have two names for one jutsu" Akio said. "Now it all makes sense" he added sarcastically

Kakashi sighed yet Naruto and Sakura were still getting used to Akio being around.

"Where's the scroll with the jutsu?" Jiraya asked

Kakashi turned to his left and grabbed his bag. He sat it down on his lap and began fishing around for the scroll. After finding it he threw it casually to Jiraya.

Jiraya and Akio began reading it while Kakashi Naruto and Sakura began enjoying a bento since they were getting hungry.

"Naruto you just ate ramen two hours ago and your already starving?" Sakura asked bewildered as she pooped a rice cake in her mouth

"You took me way before I had enough bowls to devour" Naruto huffed indigently and folded his arms.

Kakashi already finished his meal and was now lying back against the tree staring up at the clouds. He missed his precious books, he forgot them because of all the drama that was going on lately. He hated to admit it but he was becoming more sociable without them, guess Tsunade was right.

"Sensei?" Sakura asked. Kakashi looked up at her and hmmed in replay "You never told us your age" he said cheerfully

"Oh that's right?" Naruto smiled "So thirty two?"

"I'm turning thirty in two months" Kakashi replied and was amused by the look of shook on both of their faces.

"SO you were only twenty six when he first met you" Sakura asked

Kakashi nodded. "Did you actually think I was old?"

"What? Of course not" Naruto shouted at the insult "But we didn't figure out you were THAT young"

Kakashi chuckled.

"You know, sensei, that thirty is the ideal age of getting a woman" Sakura smiled. Naruto smirked at his sensei who frowned at the very idea.

"Seriously sensei" Sakura continued "You can't stay alone forever"

"Tsunade and Jiraya turned out just fine" Kakashi muttered

"Do you really believe that?" Naruto asked "I mean truly". It was obvious that he was joking but the thought still ran through Kakashi's mind

"Kakashi" Jiraya addressed him ending their conversation "Finish this jutsu later, we don't have time and we need to teach you something else"

They were all curious and stared at Jiraya. "What's that?" Kakashi asked cocking his head to the side

"How to work with a dragon" Akio announced and Kakashi's eyes widened in disbelief.


	17. Chapter 17

"AMAZING!" Naruto pumped his hand up in the air and jumped "A real dragon?"

Jiraya laughed at Naruto's antics "Yes Naruto, a real dragon"

"Can I stay and watch?" he asked excitedly

"Sure" Akio shrugged not really caring whether the blonde was here or not

"YES!" he yelled "Can't wait to rub it in Kiba's face" and a devilish smile crossed his lips while he rubbed his hands together

"Isn't this area a little small?" Kakashi asked remembering Akio's dragon fill up a massive amount of space

"Not for a beginners dragon, no" Akio smiled. Jiraya led Sakura and Naruto under the tree and they all sat down. Naruto couldn't sit still waiting for Akio to summon a dragon while Sakura still didn't believe it. Jiraya, however, was anxious on how Kakashi would do and if he would actually get a dragon.

"So do I sign a contract or something?" Kakashi asked

"Not yet" Akio instructed "First I'm going to reverse summon you to their home in order for you to be chosen"

Kakashi was extremely confused and Akio couldn't help but laugh at his puzzlement. "With dragons, you don't force a contract upon them, each dragon decides whether or not he wants you

"What is that based on?" Kakashi asked

"The connection with you and them" Akio answered as if it was a normal thing that happens every day.

"What connection?" Kakashi asked getting agitated because Akio was only half answering his question "I've never seen a dragon other than yours and that was barely for a second."

"This is where it gets difficult" Akio finally became serious "A dragon well naturally feel protective over you since it can feel a connection to you, some are like friends, others like parents but they are extremely protective over there riders.

"I think I get sort of get it" Kakashi sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets

"Jiraya" Akio turned to face him "We won't be long, hopefully"

Jiraya simply nodded and Akio performed various seals and disappeared.

"What about Kakashi sensei?" Naruto asked. They minute he said that Kakashi felt a sharp tug and landed sharply on his back. Now sprawled on a wasteland, Kakashi groaned and rubbed his head.

Akio extended a hand towards Kakashi who accepted and was lifted onto his feet. Kakashi looked around and found himself in a barren desert right in front of a canyon

Kakashi turned towards Akio and gave him a questioning look while Akio smirked and pointed at the edge. Kakashi hesitantly approached the edge and peered down. All he saw was pitch black and gulped at the sheer depth of the hole.

Before he could voice his opinions Akio pushed him over the edge. Kakashi quickly got over the shook and tried to hang on to something to no avail. He now could no longer see the surface or the bottom. It was as if he was stuck in time with the wind striking his body in a dark abyss.

Kakashi couldn't even scream as he helplessly plummeted down to his doom. Something suddenly gripped him by the color and hauled him away.

"Wasn't that rejuvenating?" Akio asked in amusement

"No it wasn't" Kakashi shuddered. He then realized that he was riding Akio's dragon. The dragon wasn't flying back up yet was descending even lower into the hole.

"Take it easy, Ryuu" Akio cautioned. The dragon grunted its replay

"Why in hell did you do that?" Kakashi muttered holding onto the dragon

"So you can feel the same thing I did when I got my first dragon" Akio replied

"You fell down this never ending abyss?" Kakashi asked

Akio nodded. "Ryuu saved me back then and we've been friends ever since"

"Were you expecting somebody to save me?" Kakashi asked

"No" Akio replied "The dragons used to live in the upper world, our world, during the time were demons ruled the lands and humans didn't exist. After things got out of hand and the demons began getting sealed, the dragons escaped to the under haven becoming legends and folk tales. They do not want to get involved with the upper world anymore so they leave any human, who is unlucky enough to fall here, to his doom."

Kakashi looked like he was about to ask something but Akio silenced him then continued with his story "Ryuu, on the other hand, was flying aimlessly around here when I fell. He felt the connection between us and rescued me. I was about sixteen or so. When Ryuu took me to their world everybody was outraged and Ryuu was confused as to why he saved me. He went to the elder who has been alive even before humans existed for an explanation"

Kakashi's eyes widened in shook. How did this dragon live for that long, then again so did the biju.

"The elder told everybody about when the same thing happened to him when he met a certain human. He described the connection which was what Ryuu felt then told of a prophecy that states that a time would come were dragons will go back to the upper world and live in harmony with humans. It would start with a single human and increase slowly over time until dragons and humans co exist together and become one. No creature will have upper control over the other and any sign of corruption will be destroyed immediately to live in a perfect world."

Kakashi nodded trying to withdraw all this information

"When I knew I had to pass the tie with dragons for future generations, I married Izumi thinking that she will bear my kids who will become my heirs. However, Izumi is barren and I didn't mind since I never felt happier with such a lovely woman. After that, I began looking for a student but none of them were talented or smart enough to take on this task. I gave up on them and started to believe that nobody will ever met the standards of a new dragon rider. That is, until I met you" Akio smiled as he said the last part.

Kakashi was shocked at how much faith Akio had in him and how at the responsibility he has to carry.

"If I knew this would come from training with you, I would've said no" Kakashi chuckled nervously not really meaning it. Akio was able to tell Kakashi was joking and was relived inwardly that he finally found the right person.

"We're almost there" Akio stated "Oh, and don't tell anybody from the upper world about what I just told you"

Kakashi nodded. He saw a light at the end of the tunnel and was relieved that he was about to leave this abyss and enter that dragon world.


	18. Chapter 18

Kakashi was astonished when they finally exited the hole. They were currently flying in the sky? The clouds encircled the tops of the mountains which they were currently flying next to. Kakashi extended his hand and let it pass through the clouds smiling at the feeling. Touching the clouds was never something he had imagined to do.

Ryuu suddenly dipped under the clouds allowing the dragons' nest to visualize in front of him. It was simply amazing. Dragons of various colors and sizes were all around the gigantic place. Some were sleeping on the tall grass while others were flying aimlessly about. Some were a dark shade of purple with goat like horns, others were as green as the trees and their tails opened wide which could easily flatten somebody. He even saw a yellow mother dragon taking care of her young which were bigger in size than Kakashi.

Even their wings were different! All of them held different little designs that criss crossed all over their wings in a contrasting color. The dark blue dragons' wings were patterned with a lighter blue. The black ones had some white curved lines intersected randomly creating a masterpiece. Some had jagged edges while others were curved lightly and some held a perfect curve.

"What do you think?" Akio asked they glided over the shimmering lake which Kakashi was peering down at watching some blue dragon swim leisurely.

"I'm speechless" Kakashi whispered in awe looking around everywhere like a kid in a candy shop. There was a world under their own and they never knew about it. And what a world it was!

Ryuu finally landed in a clearing and some curious dragons gathered around.

"A new human?" a massive dragon that was brick red asked as he approached him flying. The old dragon had dull horns that Kakashi expected to have been sharp at one point during the dragon's life time. Everybody was currently bowing down for the dragon yet Kakashi was too captivated by everything to notice.

Akio saw this and tugged down on Kakashi and spoke to the dragon. "A Student of mine" Akio summarized and stood back up once more. The dragons also rose back up in unison and Kakashi followed suit. The mighty dragon was hovering in the air staring at Kakashi.

"What is your name?" the voice was clam which relaxed Kakashi and he felt oddly comforted by his tone

"Hatake Kakashi your Excellency" Kakashi answered and bowed down yet again. He could hear the muttering of the other dragons and the curiosity that seeped with every voice.

"Calm down, my friends" the dragon laughed whole heartedly "Kakashi, my child, follow me" and with that the dragon turned away walking on all its fours". Kakashi trekked after him and Akio followed on Ryuu's back

The dragons were walking incredibly fast and Kakashi was having a hard time keeping up and looking around him. Akio saw this and asked Ryuu if he could help him out and Ryuu smirked as he grabbed Kakashi from his mouth, who startled at the action. Ryuu chuckled lightly as he sat him down next to Akio releasing his hold.

"The kid has a lot to learn, Akio" the dragon muttered amused. Akio smiled as well at the comment and warned Kakashi to hold on tight since they were taking flight to the elder's chambers.

Kakashi did as he was told and Ryuu took flight after the dragon leader. "Is this the dragon that lived before humans existed?" Kakashi could no longer hide his curiosity

Akio shook his head indicating no "This is his assistant" .

Ryuu landed into a cave and Akio jumped down and Kakashi followed his example. "Stay close to me, alright."

"Hai" Kakashi's voice was barely above a whisper. Akio was sensing how much Kakashi was nervous and awed at the same time and realized that Kakashi probably had tons of ideas running through his head.

Kakashi looked around and noticed a huge door in front of them that towered above him so much. The mouth of the cave seemed smaller in Kakashi's opinion.

The red dragon opened the door with ease and escorted them inside. Kakashi was shocked when he saw a silver dragon laying down in the biggest cushion he had ever seen.

"I was expecting you, young one" the dragon smiled as Kakashi followed Akio's lead. Kakashi nodded weakly as he stared up at the dragon. His thorns were also dulled a bit and his voice was low. His eyes were different shades of grays, silvers and white with a black iris in the center. The eyes held such wisdom that captivated Kakashi and was currently hypnotized by them staring at them blankly.

His wings were lacking the patterns Kakashi previously saw and were jagged as well. The only things decorating the wings was a sky blue sheet at the edge of the wings. It's tail got smaller towards the end and had a 'V' shape.

"Is he yours, Akio?" the dragon turned to Akio for an explanation.

"He's my student" Akio smiled and that was when Kakashi realized that Akio was already close to the dragon.

The dragon smiled and turned back to Kakashi "Come forth, my child" he beckoned him forward. Kakashi approached him without hesitation and bowed when he was in front of him.

The dragon smiled and noted Kakashi's courage. Even Akio hesitated and he remembers him taking a few steps back before reluctantly approaching him, although Akio was sixteen when it happened.

"Kakashi" he addressed him "What business do you have here?" The elder dragon awaited his answer with a small grin plastered on his face

"I'm here to train in the dragon arts" Kakashi reluctantly said not sure what the right thing to say is

"No my dear boy" The dragon replied courteously "You are here to become a dragon rider. You are not above a dragon and dragons are not an art"

Kakashi apologized for his misunderstanding and bowed deeply.

"Did you find a connection yet?" the dragon asked ruffling it's wings in a sense as if to relieve numbness

Kakashi shook his head slowly "Not yet". He looked at Akio who smiled giving Kakashi some support

" Well I'm curious as to who it'll be" The elder chuckled and got up walking towards the exit taking moment to tell Kakashi to follow him.

When Kakashi got outside the cave he was bewildered by the sheer number of dragons who gathered at the clearing awaiting the elder's words. Kakashi was getting used to the whole dragon thing or so he thought.

"My fellow creatures" The elder's voice immediately quieted everybody in the area "I asked for all of you to come here in order to find out which dragon bears a connection to our newest possible rider."

Murmurs filled the valley. Kakashi noticed dragons similar to the elder flying near the mouth of the cave and he guessed them to be a clan of some sort. There were numerous dragons in different sizes but they all had the same color and wings.

Suddenly a young dragon, compared to the others, jumped out at Kakashi and bared its teeth at him snapping violently.

Everybody was shocked but nobody moved to stop to latest turn of events. The elder sighed muttering something about how it's always violence with this dragon's case. Kakashi, however, was too stunned to hear

"Tell me, human" she said in rage "Why would I possibly feel any compassion for you?" and she snarled at Kakashi. It was taller than Kakashi by a few inches when standing on her four legs. If she stood up on it hind legs it would be four times taller than Kakashi.

Everybody was shocked at the connection that was formed. Nobody expected somebody form the Hideki clan to form a bond with a human ever. It was unheard of!

Kakashi guessed that she was the one who felt the connection and felt sorry for himself at getting this particular dragon.

Kakashi sighed and rubbed the back of his head nervously then turned to the elder "Are you sure each human has only one connection?"

The elder laughed humorously where as the female dragon wasn't amused and snapped at him "Are you saying I'm not good enough for you?"

"It's not that" Kakashi held up his hands in defense "But you said you didn't want us to be friends so I thought I'll save you the trouble"

"Enough!" the elder declared "Kioshi, you and Kakashi were destined to learn and train together"

Kioshi reluctantly nodded but made sure to glare at Kakashi who tried his best to ignore the killing intent directed at him

"Now then Kakashi has seen our world, it's your turn to see the human one" the elder announced and Kioshi was shocked

"You mean the upper world?" she asked in disbelief

The elder smiled at her "Yes, my daughter". She wasn't really his daughter, she was too young, a teenager dragon. However, Tsubasa (the elder) referred to any female of his clan by that name. He was greatly surprised that somebody form his clan bore a connection with this human and immediately began thinking of great things for both of them in the near future. Who knows? Kakashi could become a dragon erudite (sage).

"I'll reverse summon them both to my kinds" Akio announced and the elder gave his approval. Akio disappeared and before long so did Kioshi. Tsubasa managed to tell her to behave before they both disappeared.

"This is going to be interesting" Takeshi snorted in amusement (assistant)

"I see great things for them" Tsubasa smiled as they flew away dismissing the rest of the dragons who were already spreading rumors.

"When humans and dragons existed together" Takeshi began "No human managed to find a connection with one of your prestigious clan other than your own rider."

"Which is why I believe Kakashi isn't just any normal rider" Tsubasa smiled as they landed on of the highest mountains overlooking the valley.

"You don't mean you're going to teach them both dragon sage and becoming one with each other" Takeshi's eyes widened at the idea

"That's exactly what I'm going to do" Tsubasa said seriously

"What if that was your special ability?" Takeshi said "Being able to fully connect with a person other than a simple bond" (Will be explained in new chapters)

"It's worth a shot" Tsubasa stated "Besides, Kioshi still hasn't figured out her special ability yet"


	19. Chapter 19

When Kakashi first came back he noticed Naruto staring at Kioshi with admiration and Sakura shaking with a bit of fear. Jiraya was examining the dragon and was smiling. Kioshi however was looking around her curious about the upper world.

"So this is your world" she asked harshly turning to face Kakashi

"Obviously" Kakashi put his hands into his pockets

Kioshi glared at him then huffed "Our world is much more fascinating"

"I agree" Kakashi smiled. She was surprised and turned facing Kakashi thinking he would've said otherwise.

"You don't like your own world?" she asked in disbelief

"Of course I do" Kakashi sighed getting tired of the day's events. The sun was going to set in an hour or so yet he felt the day longer. Did he only spend two hours in the under haven?

"You're an idiot" she snorted "There is no way I'm working with somebody like you" and looked up at the sky ignoring Kakashi

"She is so cool" Naruto yelled after finally getting rid of the shook. Sakura was also awoke from her stupor but didn't voice her opinion as clear as Naruto

"Who are you?" she narrowed her eyes

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of the Hidden Leaf!" he declared pumping a fist in the air

"Simple minded humans" she sighed

"So do you know how you officially become a dragon rider?" Akio asked Kakashi who shook his head indicating a no.

"It's similar to what some frogs do" Akio explained "You have to stay on her back while she flies"

Kakashi nodded and faced Koishi who heard every word

"THERE IS NO WAY I'M ALLOWING A HUMAN TO RIDE ME!" she shrieked

"Kioshi, it's Tsubasa sama's orders" Akio explained. Kioshi hesitantly stopped complaining

"Fine, let's do this quick so I can kill you already" she growled at Kakashi

"That's not very reassuring" Kakashi mumbled as he jumped onto her back

"It wasn't supposed to be" she muttered back.

"Good luck, Kakashi sensei" Sakura smiled weakly.

Before Kakashi could answer Kioshi beat her to it "No amount of luck will save him from falling off my back and hopefully dying. I'm one of the best flyers of the haven, be prepared". Sakura opened her mouth in shock fearing the worse and already getting out her medical supplies

Kakashi sent Akio a pleading look but Akio only chuckled. "If you do fall, me and Ryyu will save you"

"Oh joy" Kakashi muttered sarcastically "I feel so much better"

Without even a warning Kioshi shot up in the sky at full speed. Kakashi lost his breath and held on to her for dear life. She kept going up higher and higher then started spinning in the air between mountains and into clouds.

Kakashi realized she enjoyed going through holes and pathways in between mountains. Kakashi started to feel himself losing grip and she noticed as well. She smirked and did a back flipping hanging upside down instead of going full loop.

Kakashi panicked once he found what she was doing. He lost his grip and was about to fall until he sent some of his sharingan wires and had them envelop her belly and was currently hovering in mid air.

Kakashi gulped in fear as he tried to raise himself. However, Kioshi kept doing weird tricks in the air making Kakashi lose hold on the strings. Kioshi flew straight ahead at a very high speed then jerked to a sudden stop causing Kakashi to almost lose his grip

Kakashi panicked and bean trying to think of a way to save himself. He concentrated some chakra in his hands and climbed up the wire like a monkey until he was finally on her back again.

Kakashi smiled and turned to Kioshi and smirked "You need to try harder than that"

Kioshi finally calmed down and began gliding around the sky, over bodies of water and near waterfalls. Kakashi felt a sense of joy wash over him as he saw his own world in a new light. The sun began to set and the colors over the horizon where much better than he had ever seen them

"This is amazing" he told Kioshi still holding on to her

Kioshi laughed "Wait till I give you a tour of my world, although I have to admit your waterfalls are nicer."

"I can't wait" Kakashi replied seriously "What do you see??

"What do you mean?" she asked as she frightened a flock of birds that were flying around

"What color is the sky?" he asked her wondering if she saw black and white like Pakkun.

"Currently it's orangish" she answered

"Is that a word?" Kakashi chuckled lightly

"I can say what I want" she laughed back "What about you?"

"Orangish as well" he smiled. "I was wondering if you see like humans do?"

"In the day we see colors like blue, green, and yellow, white, red and so on" she replied "But in the night we see everything in shades of red or green giving us a clearer view."

"We simply see everything darker and sometimes we barely pick anything up" he admitted

"Typical" Kioshi snorted "Humans are so weak"

"Why'd you run away from us then?" Kakashi smarted and she flicked him with her horn by lifting her head up a bit. Kakashi muttered and rubbed the side of his head. Her horn spiraled upwards slightly and was pushed behind a bit.

"So what determines whether you see green or red?" Kakashi asked curiously

"Those with green vision are males; females see red" Kioshi shrugged "Doesn't make a difference really"

Kakashi nodded thinking about the natural difference in opposites genders in all sorts of creatures. It was unexplainable and was just is.

Kioshi currently had her toes dipped in water and some splashed on Kakashi who welcomed it.

"We should be heading back before it becomes too dark" Kioshi announced and flew back to the training grounds.

"How old are you?" Kakashi asked as he watched the trees swish under him.

"Fifty eight (58)" she answered. Kakashi whistled in shock so Kioshi glared at him and Kakashi quieted down apologizing. "I'm considered a teenager in dragon years you know" she added

"No way!" Kakashi asked her with amusement

"Why would I lie?" she snarled looking back at Kakashi again. Kakashi sighed mentally and decided to leave it for now, she would eventually accept him later.

Kioshi grunted in displeasure and began her descend into the training grounds. When she finally landed Kakashi jumped of her back and sighed

"How was it?" Jiraya asked advancing towards Kakashi. Naruto and Sakura were also approaching and Naruto was hoping to simply touch the dragon.

"It went incredibly well considering she tried to kill me at the beginning" Kakashi declared

"You had it coming" she growled "Pathetic human" she murmured the last part yet everybody heard her

"You're officially a dragon rider" Akio smiled "How does it feel?" patting Kakashi in the back

"Would feel nice if my dragon was a bit mellow" he looked at Kioshi

"Don't you dare start with me" she growled clenching her extremely sharp teeth "It's not my fault I got landed with an idiotic human such as yourself"

Kakashi sighed and ran a hand through his hair "See what I mean?" he addressed Akio who was suppressing his laughs

"Don't worry Kioshi, I thought he was an idiot at first as well" Akio smiled.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes dangerously at Akio "You're not helping" he said in a low voice

"We'll talk tomorrow" Akio ignored him "And I'll teach you how to summon a dragon and the opposite"

"Wait a minute?" Kakashi raised his voice "She can summon me?" he asked in disbelief

"Of course" Akio said as if it was a normal thing "You guys are equal"

Kioshi smiled devilishly "I'm going to enjoy that"

Kakashi groaned and felt like banging his head on a wall.

Naruto realized the mood and decided to intervene "How about some ramen?" he suggested motioning for Sakura chan to help him.

She nodded "Yes sensei, you must be hungry by now". And true to her words his stomach protested loudly. He smiled sheepishly at them before bidding Kioshi a goodnight. She disappeared without even acknowledging him.


	20. Chapter 20

**Sry for the delay! I had my sister's graduation, projects, essays, my birthday :D (big deal), SAT this Saturday and Finals next week **** I'm finding it hard to find time to write. Once summer's here I hope to update more recently. Until then bear with me, thx.**

"So how was it, sensei?" Naruto asked enthusiastically as he looked back and forth between the Ichiruka menu and Kakashi.

Kakashi shrugged his response and stifled a yawn. _"It has been a long time since I felt tired after training. Actually, it's been a long time since I trained this hard anyway. The mangekyou sharingan required more research and I had too much going on to train too hard. Right now my so called mission is to train in order to defeat Akatsuki"_

"Sensei?" Sakura asked snapping her fingers in front of him. Kakashi jerked his head slightly and let a loud yawn escape his lips, sleep was getting to him.

"You should go to sleep" she scolded "You look like you're going to fall over any minute now!"

Kakashi opened his mouth slightly to dismiss her concern but Sakura raised her eyebrows daring him to object. Kakashi had to admit she had Tsunade's dark look yet it looked a little cute with candy pink hair.

"I think I'll go" he sighed obviously annoyed by being sent to bed by his student. However, he did want to sleep and wasn't all that hungry anymore, he assumed his tired body needed sleep more than food at the moment.

He walked back to his apartment hoping Anko and the others were alright. He supposed they would be, they were six against two. But this was Akatsuki and they are insanely strong and weird on so many levels.

He fished for his keys then remembered that he forgot his jacket on the tree in the training grounds. Kakashi felt like screaming that minute but managed to contain his misery. He went to the window but it was locked, since when does he lock it anyway?

Knowing it was either breaking his house or going back to the training ground, Kakashi transported himself as close as possible to the secluded area. As he began walking aimlessly he heard Jiraya and Akio's voices travel to him.

Kakashi decided to eavesdrop and hid behind a tree concealing his chakra signatures, besides; Jiraya and Akio were well into their discussion that they might not notice anyhow.

"So are you saying that you will fight the Akatsuki instead of Kakashi?" Jiraya asked

"Exactly" Akio nodded not wavering from his decision

"But why?" Jiraya asked confusion evident in his voice

"Because I'm stronger and I don't want to see the brat kill himself" Akio sighed

"Then why are you giving him a dragon then?" Jiraya asked "You said you're only giving it to him so he can have a better chance of defeating Akatsuki"

"I changed my mind" Akio elaborated "and have my own reasons"

"And you want me to trust your decision if you don't clue me in on it" Jiraya forcibly asked

"Yes" Akio answered "Why wouldn't you trust me?"

"It's just that, this is a dragon we're talking about" Jiraya snapped "You said you'll never let anybody get one unless it was dire circumstances! If Kakashi doesn't fight Akatsuki there are no dire circumstances, so my question is why?"

"I got attached to the brat" Akio replied smoothly "and I'm content into passing down my way of the ninja to him"

"Your way of the ninja?" Jiraya mumbled not believing Akio. Akio was always secluded save for Izumi, it is weird seeing him get attached to somebody else. Although, Kakashi does have that effect on people.

"So are we in agreement?" Akio asked indifferently folding his hands in front of his chest

Jiraya retorted "Then you and Kakashi could come, the more the merrier"

"It's either me or him" Akio stated

"Kakashi isn't a kid, he is a proud elite ninja of Konoha who can watch his back" Jiraya argued "I don't get your mentality"

"It's just that…" Akio said

"It's just that you can't bear to see Kakashi get severely hurt" Jiraya answered "It's the same with me for Naruto."

"So you know what I'm saying" Akio replied

"Kakashi doesn't want to see Naruto get hurt as well and will do anything to protect him" Jiraya growled "How would you feel if I prevented you from saving Kakashi?"

Akio didn't answer and Jiraya was satisfied

"Once Anko and her group come back we'll plan a strategy WITH Kakashi and end Akatsuki once and for all" Jiraya summarized

"Sounds good" Akio nodded in agreement

"And don't worry, he will be fine, right Kakashi?" as he said the last part he faced Kakashi's hiding place

Kakashi cursed and jumped down. He should've known he couldn't hide from those two. "How long did you know I was there?"

"When I told Akio about his morals over giving you a dragon" Jiraya smirked

"Well at least I managed to hide for a couple of seconds there" Kakashi sighed

"What are you doing here anyway?" Akio asked

Kakashi casually pointed at his vest that still hung over a branch. Jiraya chuckled and Akio leered in amusement. Kakashi ignored them and took his vest successfully locating his keys.

"You locked yourself outside your own house?" Akio asked laughing slightly

"Shut up!" Kakashi muttered and turned to leave. Jiraya however had other plans and blocked Kakashi's way surrounding him by a tree. Kakashi looked up at Jiraya in confusion.

"Didn't your father teach you it was wrong to eavesdrop?" he smirked as Kakashi furrowed his brows together

"You peek at woman all the time and listen to their conversations" Kakashi smarted back attempting to duck under Jiraya's arms.

Jiraya chuckled yet forced Kakashi to hear him out but pulling him back "It's different"

"How so?" Kakashi asked annoyed

"I do it for research" Jiraya smiled

Before Jiraya and Kakashi could say anything else Akio intervened "What Jiraya means is that our conversation is important unlike his perverted needs"

"It's not a need but important research" Jiraya grinned idiotically "All the useful research" a blush was now apparent on his face.

"Can I go now?" Kakashi asked irritably

"Oh sure. Whatever" Jiraya stepped back "Just don't eavesdrop next time"

"I'll do my best to remember you're valuable advised" Kakashi answered sarcastically as he disappeared.

"Shall we head to my humble house?" Jiraya smiled

"Me and Izumi rented a room in a hotel and since when do you have a house here? You don't even live in a place anymore" Akio answered as they left and approached the quiet streets of Konoha. People were closing shops and people were finishing up their last business of the day

"I never sold it" Jiraya smiled "It's mine and not rent"

"How dusty?" Akio laughed as Jiraya ignored the question by suggesting some dango. Akio noticed that the man was locking the restaurant and sighed

"Maybe tomorrow" Akio nodded "You're treat"

"You're the one who is rich" Jiraya muttered

"You're the one who offered" Akio smiled.

Kakashi looked at his dusty apartment. He still didn't clean it after coming back yet it wasn't something bad. Just a little dust on some shelves and tables. Kakashi wasn't a very big neat freak yet wasn't an abomination like Naruto. His house was relatively clean apart from the occasional jacket or book lying around.

Kakashi changed into some more comfortable clothes and his tiredness finally caught up on him. His eyes slid slowly and he was soon in an unconscious sleep.

After Kakashi woke up he headed directly for the training area not wanting to get another scolding from Tsunade.

When he arrived Jiraya immediately began throwing some news at him

"The two groups send to kill what Konan described as Kakazu and Hidan came back successfully. Unfortunately Teshika and Udon were killed in the process." Jiraya informed him

"That's good news" Kakashi noted then said his prayers for his fallen comrades. When Akio arrived he saw Kakashi closing his eyes with hands in front of him. Akio realized that somebody else had died.

"Good morning" Akio greeted. Jiraya nodded and handed him the report. He sighed and promised to make sure Kakashi doesn't end up dead as well after all this.

"So do we wait for Kioshi?" Kakashi asked after relaxing his hands.

"It's a competition" Akio began to explain "You need to…"

"summon Kakashi to you before he does" Tsubasa explained to Kioshi

"The seals are bird, tiger, ox, bird, dragon, rabbit, bird" (hope those are real seals :S) Akio continued

"You need to place your paw on the ground and release some spiritual energy (Dragon Chakra) into the earth whilst thinking of Kakashi"

"If you summon her before she does…"

"You choose the area in which you want to start training with…"

"The point is only friendly competition" Akio warned

"Doesn't determine how is stronger or in more control"

" Begin" Both mentors ordered at the same time

Kioshi immediately set to work not wanting to be out done by a mere human, even if it was only friendly competition

Kakashi worked diligently as well simply to start training. He was extremely anxious as to learning to fight alongside a dragon. Although he still hoped Kioshi would open her heart to him just a bit.

Akio knew Kakashi would succeed first since he was a ninjutsu master. And true to his words Kioshi was summoned only a minute after Kakashi set out to work. Kakashi had a knack of picking up jutsu extremely quickly since he had the sharingan.

Kioshi stomped her feet angrily and glared at Kakashi. Before she could voice her opinion, Akio and Tsubasa summoned them to the underworld.


	21. Chapter 21

"Congratulations, Kakashi" the elder smiled fondly at Kakashi how was currently side stepping away from Kioshi as she glared at him with the intention to kill.

"Kioshi!" Tsubasa warned and she reluctantly turned away. "Now, Kakashi, where do you want to train?"

"Here" Kakashi answered automatically as Kioshi nodded in agreement

"Good good" the elder smiled "Much easier for me" and he chuckled softly as he began walking beckoning them to follow him

Akio summoned Ryuu and Kakashi figured they had to fly there. Tsubasa and Ryuu were hovering around waiting for Kakashi and Kioshi to join them. Kioshi flew on by herself leaving Kakashi behind.

Kakashi grumbled irritably wondering for the one hundredth time why it had to be Kioshi.

Ryuu laughed and turned to Akio "He has a VERY long way to go"

"It's not his fault his dragon is a moody, aggressive female known for her snappish attitude" Akio defended him

"Looks like nobody is going to do anything" Ryuu noted as he stared at the leader looking at Kakashi waiting for him to act

Kakashi realized he was on his own and sighed running a hand through his hair.

"Kioshi chan" he said sweetly "May you please allow me to accompany such a fine lady as yourself to the training grounds"

Kioshi's eyebrow twitched once Kakashi ended his plea. Tsubasa was staring with amusement at Kakashi. He had courage to address Kioshi like that.

Akio shock his head in dismay "Jiraya" he muttered

"Looks like he influenced Kakashi more than you thought" Ryuu laugh echoed through the valley

"YOU ARE MAKING A FOOL OUT OF ME!" Kioshi shrieked as she dived for Kakashi

Kakashi had anticipated this from her and immediately threw a kunai with chakra ropes (thx for correcting me last time) on the wall and propelled himself away. Kioshi landed afterwards and glared at Kakashi

Kakashi smiled sheepishly "That was never my intention"

"That's because you never think before you act!" she yelled

"Please Kioshi chan" Kakashi tried again "The sooner we start training the sooner you get rid of me"

"That's true" Kioshi mumbled in agreement

"So can I ride you?" he asked trying to confirm her answer

"This better be a short journey" Kioshi growled as Kakashi jumped on her back

They finally flew to the training grounds. Kakashi was looking at everything and Kioshi noticed "Told you our world was nicer"

"You promised me a tour" Kakashi reminded her longingly

"Don't worry" Kioshi answered impatiently "I never break my word"

Kakashi grabbed on to her more tightly as she descended to the ground. The minute she landed Kakashi jumped off unlike Akio.

"I hope that was short enough for you" Kakashi smiled at her

Kioshi nodded stoically. Kakashi was undeterred "Thanks"

Kioshi was shocked. She was forced to let him ride her yet he thanked her as if she chose to do so.

"Alright now that we are finally here" Tsubasa addressed them "Today we will work on collaborative teamwork"

"Hai" Kakashi nodded where as Kioshi glared. Apparently she might have to let him ride her again, as if.

"This course will test how you work individually at first" Tsubasa smiled

"Why is that?" Kioshi asked

Kakashi knew the answer but thought that she would clobber him if he indicated that he knew something she didn't.

Akio answered instead "This way you can see your partner's strengths and weaknesses to make up for them"

Kioshi nodded.

"It is a maze of obstacles" Tsubasa explained "try to reach the exit before you die"

"Thanks for the advise" Kioshi muttered

"Kakashi will go first while we fly overhead to observe" Tsubasa ordered ignoring Kioshi and pointed at the left entrance as he flew upwards followed by the rest.

"Mind you," Tsubasa addressed him one last time "what you will currently face is nothing like you've ever seen before in your world. Good luck"

Akio could see the track from his current height. It covered all types of terrain starting with a grassy lawn, into a forest, mountains and cliffs, caves, desert, bodies of water, and even snow.

"Will he be able to finish the course before the end of the day?" Ryuu asked

"It will take all day if he is skilled" Tsubasa shrugged "Kioshi will run another one tomorrow"

"I'm not going today?" she asked

"No, you are not" Tsubasa answered her "Even is he fails from the start"

That was last thing Kakashi heard as the dragons left him alone. Kakashi sighed and looked at the entrance. He walked through and the minute he did that the entrance shut tightly. Kakashi looked at the vines winding together. Suddenly a rock slide rumbled from behind Kakashi and he sprinted.

"There is no way I can outrun it" Kakashi muttered thinking of some sort of idea that will save him.

"I could use kage bunshins to hoist me up" Kakashi noted and cursed for using Naruto's methods yet again. A line of clones hung to a cliff and heaved Kakashi away from his crushing doom.

He released the clones and stared ahead as the rock slide came to a halt. Surprisingly the cloud of smoke didn't end and Kakashi noticed three gigantic bulls heading his way. Kakashi revealed his sharingan and did his best to absorb nature chakra as the beasts approached.

When they got closer Kakashi realized that they may have a similar outline as bulls, but those were defiantly not bulls. They had one eye each and had sharp teeth that could rip Kakashi to pieces with ease.

"This is much more difficult that I thought" he sighed as the beasts approached. He threw an exploding tag at them which managed to injure one of them but he still managed to run at him, although slower than the rest.

Once the bull approached him Kakashi leapt just in time. It skidded to a stop and approached him again. Kakashi was ready this time "CHIDORI!"

It thrust into his eye spurting goo and gunk. Kakashi shuddered as the disgusting slime splattered on him.

"Of course" Akio smirked "The lightening ball"

"Lightening ball?" Ryuu asked

"Yes, his original jutsu and the worst assassination jutsu I ever saw" Akio answered

"That is not an assassination jutsu" Ryuu reminded him

"It was intended to be when he created it and sometimes he does use it in order to kill others from behind" Akio answered

Ryuu laughed "I like him"

Kakashi didn't have time to wait and removed his hand from the beast as it fell down unmoving. The other one came at him attempting to knock him into a tree. Kakashi leapt and rode on it. The creature went wild thrashing about in order to make Kakashi fall

"After riding Kioshi, you are a piece of cake" he muttered and produced another chidori making sure to thrust it into his neck rather his eye. Only one to go, Kakashi realized that he could still use chidori with no strain on his body. Nature chakra is awesome!

Kakashi sent balls of fire at the remaining creature for a distraction and his fate ended similarly.

"Later on he won't be able to use one jutsu to kill the others." Tsubasa commented "He would need a strategy; this is just to get him warmed up"

Kakashi left the monsters and continued forth. He started walking inside a barren valley with a few shrubs around. He ventured one and before he knew it, an army of gigantic wasps attacked him.

At least Kakashi knew the creature in general. They weren't that big but compared to an ordinary wasp they were gigantic. Each one was the size of his entire arm. This world is something else.

He needed a jutsu that would take care of their numbers quickly. He knew that this course was only beginning and even with nature chakra, he didn't want to risk injuries and tiredness. He was currently attacking with a kunai yet realized that sooner or later, the kunai would be useless since a wasp already managed to scratch him.

"Grand fireball jutsu!" he yelled. A few were burnt to a crisp yet the majority just flew upwards. Kakashi cursed and noticed others joining the swarm. Guess he had no choice but to use his father's jutsu.

He decided to humor Naruto and called it razor tornado. The wasps fell one by one as a Kakashi tore through them with ease. When it was over, the land was a graveyard of giant insects. Kakashi sighed not looking forward to whatever was coming next.

The valley ended and he was now looking down on a forest. Kakashi jumped down and started running through the trees. He jumped on of the branches and proceeded to jump from one to the other.

While jumping a weird like snakish thing sprung at him knocking him off his feet. It didn't wait for Kakashi to stand back up and attacked again with tremendous speed. Kakashi barely managed to dodge.

It remained him of Orochimaru yet this snake had sharper fangs than the sannin's summons. Poison was dripping from them as the emerald eyes stared down at Kakashi like a hawk. Its skin held a dark shade of purple that was closer to black than anything.

Kakashi was currently on defense mode only dodging the incoming attacks.

"Stone clatter" Kakashi yelled as rocks emerged from below making the snake lose its balance.

" Water cannon!". A spiral of water shot at the snake drenching the area around it. The snake hissed at Kakashi and started crushing the earth with its tail.

The snake finally got Kakashi and the tails contacted with his ribs sending him crashing in a tree.

"Damn it…" he cursed as he flipped on the flour to avoid another impact.

"Lightning wave" a trail of lightening contacted with the water and electrocuted the snake. It wasn't enough to kill or paralyze it, but it gave Kakashi time to attack.

Kakashi summoned four pillars surrounding the snake as more electricity made its way into the snake's system. The snake screeched loudly until finally it collapsed dead.

Kakashi leapt away not wanting to go through that again. He arrived at a lake and decided to check the wound the snake gave him. It wasn't that bad yet it still hurt him. He lifted his shirt to find a line of bruises beginning to form. The skin was ruptured slightly in some places as well.

He cleansed his wound and wrapped some bandages around it. Later he took a drink from the lake and bounded off again.


	22. Chapter 22

Kakashi walked for ten minutes with no trouble at all. He found himself on the top of a cliff overlooking a large valley. The valley opened up at the end and Kakashi couldn't wait to get out of this annoying obstacle course.

He jumped down and began sprinting to the end. He was almost there until he heard a screech from behind him. Before he could respond something hit him on the back, hard. Kakashi fell down on his stomach and let out a pained groan. It felt like getting whipped.

He shook his head and stood up to face his final enemy. Kakashi's eye's widened at the sight in front of him.

It looked like a gecko (lizardfish creature) yet the scales reminded him of Kioshi's, indestructible. The gecko opened its mouth and its tongue shot out. Kakashi jumped to the side as the tongue sliced the rock he was leaning on.

"A yamori!" Kioshi yelled in shock. Akio's face was plastered with signs of worry. He turned to Tsubasa pleading him to give him permission to save Kakashi. Tsubasa read his look and shook his head in a silent no.

"Even dragons have problems facing yamoris!" Kioshi continued her rant oblivious to the tacit conversation between Akio and her great great grandfather."He'll die" she shrieked

"We'll just wait and see" Tsubasa replied

Kakashi was currently dodging the creature's tongue. It was fast! Kakashi already sent fireballs at it but that proved futile.

Kakashi hid behind a rock and conjured a shadow clone. He stayed hidden as he observed the gecko. It had well built legs and Kakashi guessed it to be a fast runner as well. The gecko appeared to be toying with him.

Kakashi sneaked up from behind with a chidori. The sound of a thousand birds echoed through the valley upon impact. The gecko shirked a bit but soon recovered and grabbed Kakashi by wrapping its tongue around his stomach.

It lifted Kakashi face to face and shrieked furiously before flinging him into the nearest wall of stone. Kakashi crashed loudly and fell on top of a cliff. He was panting heavily and attempting to stand up. The gecko realized that her prey was still alive and ran towards her target.

The gecko closed in on Kakashi where as he lay unmoving. Kakashi put up his hands at a feeble attempt of a shield and waited for the hit he knew would come.

Before the gecko0 could finish Kakashi Kioshi landed in front of him on her hind legs and grabbed the gecko to a stop. Kioshi let out a grunt as she managed to push it away.

The gecko screeched and stared at Kioshi.

"Get on my back" Kioshi urged Kakashi. Kakashi limped to her side and lifted himself up. "Are you alright?" she asked still staring intensely at the gecko.

"Hai" Kakashi said between pants "Thanks"

Kioshi took off suddenly and began battling the gecko. She appeared to have a wind affinity or whatever dragons called them in the underworld. She was sending wave and wave of furious winds at the gecko. The gecko was dodging them with great speed and counter attacked with its tongue and claws.

Kakashi was doing his best to stay on Kioshi. Kioshi kept flying in circles around the gecko sending various wind attacks on it.

"Aren't you supposed to be some great genius" Kioshi muttered "Think of something!"

"I could send a giant ball of fire and you could increase its power with wind" Kakashi suggested

"It's worth a try" agreed Kioshi. Kakashi began doing the seals and suddenly Kioshi veered to the left so Kakashi had to stop and hold on in order not to fall off.

"Can't you fly higher in order for me to have time to perform the seals instead of you dodging so much" Kakashi asked

Kioshi complied without an argument which surprised Kakashi. He finally did the seals and a fire ball hurtled towards the gecko. Kioshi sent a gust of wind, and when they collided, a huge fire roared as it approached the yamori.

The gecko yelled in pain and Kioshi merely floated in space. Everything went quiet as the smoke settled. Kakashi tried to find the gecko with his sharingan but it was nowhere in sight.

"It disappeared" Kakashi said urgently. Kioshi turned around yet it was too late. The gecko slammed into her send her flying into another cliff. Kioshi knew she couldn't stop and at this rate Kakashi would get crushed while riding her back.

She grabbed Kakashi and held him in front of her as they crashed. Kakashi coughed vigorously and turned to Kioshi. She was moaning quietly in pain and was in no condition to continue the fight.

The gecko started racing towards them. Kakashi needed to act quickly in order to save both of them. He held out his palm as chakra gathered and a rasengan began to form. He began attempting Akio's technique but wasn't succeeding.

"Get out of the way!" Kioshi yelled

The yamori jumped up and tried to get Kakashi with its tongue before finishing them. Kakashi finally managed a form of some sort and hit the yamori with it.

The gecko flew backwards as Kakashi's jutsu took effect. It wasn't as good as Akio's, but it was something. Instead of destroying everything in its path, it blew up whatever was in front of it.

The last thing Kakashi remembered was something keeping him from falling over the cliff and Kioshi calling his name and then he fell into unconsciousness.

When he woke up next he was laying down on a comfortable heap of straw. He sat up lazily and examined the bandages covering his body. Realizing that whatever medic patched him up did its job, he took in his surroundings.

He was in a huge cave of some sort. Next to him Kioshi was sleeping peacefully in a much larger straw bed. She had green gunk covering her wounds. Kakashi got up and walked to the mouth of the cave. Next to him was a small waterfall pouring into a lake.

Kakashi noted that Kioshi really liked waterfalls.

He realized he was in one of the cave he saw when he first came here. The dragons were all doing their business whether it was drinking water, flying around, eating large amounts of meat or racing around the open fields.

Kakashi recognized the familiar features between these dragons and Kioshi. The idea of being in a clan compound struck his mind. Maybe dragons weren't that different after all.

Kioshi began to stir so Kakashi went to investigate. When Kioshi opened her eyes she saw Kakashi sitting cross-legged in front of her with worry.

She grunted tiredly and sat up. Silence hung over them.

"Ummm…" Kakashi muttered gaining Kioshi's attention "Sorry about what just happened"

"There's nothing to be sorry about, we've been set up" Kioshi replied hiding her anger

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked curiously

"Tsubasa sama knew you wouldn't handle the yamori and was waiting for me to aid you so we could accept our bond." She explained

"WHAT?" Kakashi raised his voice in shock

"Yup" Kioshi nodded smiling due to the fact that they had the same reaction. Kakashi muttered something about impossibility and old geezers.

"But you have to admit" Kioshi said "We are finally on the same page"

"That wasn't my fault" Kakashi shrugged "But it is behind us now"

Kioshi nodded in agreement. They both just admitted that they were friends, even though it was indirect.

"So where are we?" Kakashi asked which made Kioshi laugh.

"Ride my back and I'll show you" she smiled. Kakashi gladly jumped on her back and they took off regardless of their wounds.

"You're in the Hideki clan compound" she explained "We are the nobles of the dragon world. Families usually have similar features but our clan is known for being the purest. We have no weird shapes or patters, just plain and simple. We feel it makes us more majestic in a way"

Kakashi nodded in understanding

"Each clan has a certain specialty" Kioshi continued "There are seventeen clans in total. Mentioning them is unimportant. The abilities consist of having an ice affinity, morphing into any form of creature and acidic fire."

"What is your clan's specialty?" Kakashi asked

"I was getting to that" she answered as she landed next to an isolated lake "My clan is weird when discussing the ability. You see, each of our dragon triggers a different skill. Some skills come when in great danger others just cine naturally. Some never have a special ability, actually very few do have one"

"Did you unlock yours yet?" Kakashi asked while leaning on Kioshi

"No" she answered emotionlessly "But some of the abilities are controlling all five elements, some can read minds, others can actually move things with their mind."

"What's Tsubasa sama's ability?" Kakashi asked

"Funny you should ask" Kioshi laughed "Nobody really knows. He might not have an ability at all"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow

"You see, some say his ability is having a complete connection with his rider, others say his long life and some say he doesn't have anything."

Kakashi chuckled "Interesting"

"Speaking of specialties, what's with your eye?" Kioshi asked

"Oh that," Kakashi replied "It's called a sharingan. In our world we call them bloodline limits and like you they are passed down within families. The sharingan can cancel many ninja skills and can see movement before it actually occurs."

"And your clan has that eye?" she asked curiously

"No" Kakashi informed her "it was transplanted in my eye from a friend before he died"

Realizing it was a personal, Kioshi dropped the matter.

"Want to eat?" Kioshi asked getting ready to fly. Kakashi nodded and they both flew away.

When Kioshi landed she smiled fondly "Welcome to my home"


	23. Chapter 23 Fun Chapter

"Wait a second" Kakashi halted in front of the cave "I'm meeting your family?"

"Yup" Kioshi smiled happily and proceeded forward

Kakashi sighed and followed. He was surprised to find a normal living room with a couch and a fireplace. Although the sofa was made from rock and straw it was still the same concept. Not to mention it was huge! Kakashi felt significantly tiny in her home.

"You must be Kakashi" a dragon greeted him. She was walking on all fours and an incredibly cute yet small dragon was on her back giggling merrily.

"This is my mother,Kaito" Kioshi introduced the family "And the little monster is my baby brother, Keiko"

"Nice to meet you" Kakashi said awkwardly rubbing the back of his head

"No need to feel nervous my child" Kaito smiled warmly as she placed Keiko on the couch

"I have another older brother, Kenta, but he isn't here currently" Kioshi informed him

"_Do all their names start with a 'K'?" Kakashi thought as he smiled._

"And my father is Kuro" Kioshi finished the introductions "He's at work in the police force"

"_Yup, all their names begin with a 'K'" Kakashi concluded "I'll ask Kioshi later"_

"So Kakashi, what do you think of our under haven?" the mother asked

"In all honesty, the landscape is much better than ours" Kakashi began a conversation "Although Kioshi likes our waterfalls better"

"You remembered that?" Kioshi smirked while Kakashi sighed

"So how's your training going?" Kaito asked them both

"It's great!" Kioshi said enthusiastically "We're going to start combos soon"

"In my opinion" Kakashi answered "It's deadly"

Kioshi and Kaito laughed whole heartedly. "I heard about the yamori" said Kaito

"I wish I never see that thing ever again" Kakashi muttered disdainfully

Keiko began crying for some unknown reason. Kaito began comforting her son by cooing at him. Keiko began calming down but was till sobbing. Kioshi grabbed him from her mouth and tossed him in the air grabbing him when he descended.

Keiko started thrilling happily.

"I'm home" a deep voice called from the entrance.

"Kenta" Kaito called her eldest son "We're in here"

"Kioshi!" he smiled "Long time no see"

"Well,' she smiled back "I've been busy as you can see' and she pointed at Kakashi

"Yo!" he greeted him.

Kenta laughed humorously "Your hair is spikier in person"

"Is that a compliment?" Kakashi asked jokingly

"I like it" Kenta elaborated as he lay on the ground "Thanks for giving Kioshi something to do other than causing chaos."

"Kenta!" she shouted "I'll have you know that it was on purpose because the police force is way too serious and structured for my liking. It was only a rouse to get out of it and find my own calling"

"Of course it was" Kenta joked while Kioshi glared at him

Kakashi took this as an opportunity for some fun "So, care to share some of these stories?" he asked

Kioshi grabbed him "He would not" she decided

Kenta laughed while Kakashi sighed in disappointment. It would've been interesting.

"Don't worry" Kenta smiled "I'll tell you later"

"Alright let's have some lunch" Kaito stopped the scene from unfolding. They all entered the kitchen which consisted of a furnace like structure, a big table and some straw chairs. Keiko was seated in a make shift baby's chair while Kakashi took a regular chair.

It was so big for his liking and he barely reached the surface of the table.

"Looks like we need to get another baby chair" Kioshi mocked and Kenta joined in laughing. Kakashi felt embarrassed and was about to counter attack but their mother beat them to it.

"It would be nice to bring out your baby photos" she said casually "I'm sure Kakashi would like to see those"

That made them both stop laughing and the mother gave a content nod "Kioshi why don't you get some pillows to help Kakashi?"

Kioshi left to get him something to sit on while Kaito served the meal "I hope you aren't a vegetarian"

"I eat anything" he assured her. Kioshi came back and placed two pillows on the chair and Kakashi jumped on them.

"I've never seen so much meta in one place before" Kakashi commented as he watched various platters of meat being put out in front of them

"When you're a dragon meat is everything" Kioshi explained as she dug in

"You never had fruits or vegetables?" he asked curiously as he ate a bit of a meat

"What are those?' asked Kenta

"Never mind" Kakashi answered

After the meal Kakashi said his goodbyes and left back to his world with Akio.

They appeared in Kakashi's apartment.

"How was your day?" Akio asked

"Dragons are more similar to humans than I thought" Kakashi answered

"Which is why we are equal" Akio nodded in understanding "tomorrow you have the day off, I suggest you rest up a bit" and with that he left.

Kakashi ate some fruits and thanked no one in particular for the luscious food. After that he slept peacefully.


	24. Chapter 24

KNOCK KNOCK

Kakashi groaned and ignored the persistent knocker. It was… glancing at the clock it was already noon.

"Sensei!" Naruto yelled

"Naruto?" Kakashi sighed and got out of bed and opened the door. Naruto immediately entered the house and started blabbing

"Sensei, its already 12. Did you just wake up? Want to get ramen for breakfast? I heard that Kioshi invited you to her house from Jiraya, how was it? You should clean up here sensei, it's a mess. By the way…"

"Naruto!" Kakashi snapped

"Oh that's right, you just woke up" Naruto observed "Get dressed so you can tell me EVERYTHING over breakfast"

Kakashi cursed his luck. As much as he loved the blonde sometimes he was too much for him to handle, especially in the morning… noon.

Kakashi took his time to get ready opting to refresh a bit. He wore the normal shinobi attire without the vest. When he opened the door Naruto was going through his bookshelf.

Naruto noticed that Kakashi he placed the book back and glared "Sensei, no wonder you're always late if it takes you that long to get ready" and he folded his arms, fuming about who know what.

Kakashi mentally sweat dropped. This was going to be a long day instead of a relaxing one. Kakashi opened the front door ignoring Naruto. Naruto chased after him and Kakashi locked the door.

"Are we going to Ichiruka's?" Naruto asked excitedly mouth watering at the idea

"I'm not having ramen for breakfast" Kakashi sighed as they turned right on a curve

"What?" Naruto yelled "Ramen is the greatest breakfast ever"

"You can't have ramen for every meal" Kakashi scolded

Naruto ignored him going about which ramen is best for which occasion. They reached a very small building. It didn't have many chairs and tables since it was more of a family restaurant. Groups of friends and family came together to enjoy a meal here since it was famous for a wide range of foods.

Kakashi on the other hand always sat alone. Yet today he had Naruto, who was going to pay for his own meal.

"Right this way, sir" the butler greeted them and led Kakashi and Naruto inside. They took a table next to the window.

"Late breakfast or early lunch?" the butler asked

"Late breakfast" Kakashi answered. The butler nodded and handed them two menus and left

"Sensei? What's good here?" Naruto asked staring at his menu in deep concentration

"I'm having a variable omelet," Kakashi stated "You should try it"

"You mean eggs?" Naruto asked

Kakashi sighed "Yes Naruto, eggs with healthy ingredients. A change from your usual food"

"Fine" Naruto grumbled "I guess I could try it although I bet ramen is still better"

The butler came back and they ordered two omelets with everything.

"So sensei, tell me what you did?" Naruto asked excitedly

"I'm more curios with your training" Kakashi answered

"I can cut the water fall now" Naruto smiled proudly "Captain Yamato is teaching me some wind techniques

"That's great, although I had a different purpose for teaching you nature manipulation" Kakashi nodded

"What's that?" Naruto asked excitedly

"After breakfast" Kakashi stated emotionlessly "Any other news I should know about?"

"Me and Sakura found the perfect woman for you" Naruto smiled

"Firstly, it's Sakura and I" Kakashi commented "And secondly, im not interested in what you two come up with"

"Why not?" Naruto fumed "When all this Akatsuki drama is destroyed, it would be nice for you to settle down and start a family"

"Aren't you two taking this too far?" Kakashi smiled finally beginning to wake up

"Nope" Naruto shook his head stubbornly "I want to be a big brother"

"Of course, Naruto" Kakashi replied sarcastically "I will let you spend a lot of time with my son so he could become a mini version of you"

Naruto glared at him and Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle

"Here is your food, sir" the butler informed them as he placed the plates in front of them.

Naruto pricked at the food examining the contents while Kakashi swallowed his meal whole before Naruto could sneak a peek

"Naruto it's not poison" Kakashi commented lightly as Naruto played with his omelet. Naruto decided it was worth a taste and took a bite. Realizing that it was actually good he ate it in a matter of seconds.

"I told you healthy food is delicious" Kakashi smiled as he paid the bill for once

"You said ramen all the time wasn't healthy, nothing about fruits and vegetables being good" Naruto stated

They left the restaurant and headed for the training area

"I was supposed to have a free day" Kakashi sighed once they arrived

"I'm the one who's training" Naruto pointed out "All you have to do is supervise under a tree"

"It's still doing something" Kakashi complained

"You're so lazy sensei!" Naruto yelled

"I've been training hard just like you" Kakashi informed him "I deserve rest"

"Correction, you were forced to train" Naruto narrowed his eyes

"That was because I wanted to train you but was forced to leave you" Kakashi feigned hurt

"u huh.. sure sensei" Naruto dismissed him "whatever you say"

"This is how you repay my generosity?" Kakashi asked

"What? Paying the bill or training me once in a life time?" Naruto asked smiling triumphantly

"Never mind" Kakashi sighed in defeat "So do you want to know the actual purpose of your wind manipulation training?"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto shouted "Now we're talking"

*I'm not explaining the whole wind rasengan again :P*

Around 5 PM, Naruto got the basics and could complete the training with Yamato tomorrow without Kakashi.

"Thanks, sensei" Naruto smiled as they left the training area.

"Well it was nice spending most of my day with you but now I'm going home" Kakashi smiled and poofed away to his apartment

He wanted some rest and was finally going to get it. He noticed his Icha Icha on the couch and felt tempted to take it and read again. However, he was enjoying people's company more and stopped being anti social.

Making up his mind he collected all his books and stashed them away for after the Akatsuki war. He grabbed another book which was about a mystery similar to Sherlock Holmes and enjoyed the rest of the day.


	25. Chapter 25

"Did you enjoy your day off?" Akio asked as he looked down on Kakashi from his kitchen window

"If you call training Naruto a break then I had a blast" Kakashi answered as he stood up and dumped his cup into the sink

"Go get dressed, you're running late" Akio sighed as he sat down on the couch. Kakashi simply nodded and entered his room, closing the door behind him.

After fifteen minutes Kakashi emerged in a plain black shirt and pants.

"Summon yourself to the dragon world" Akio ordered

"How?" Kakashi asked as he sat lazily on the couch as well

"By getting your lazy butt of the couch first" Akio answered

Kakashi sighed dramatically and stood up again. "Happy?"

Akio resisted the urge to punch his apprentice and decided to jump to the catch. "Tell me what you know about summoning a summon"

"Are you serious?" Kakashi asked dumbfounded

"Does it look like I'm kidding?" Akio asked raising an eyebrow, his eyes daring Kakashi to argue. Kakashi ran a hand through his hair.

"Nervous, Kakashi?" Akio asked smirking

"What makes you say that?" Kakashi asked

"You need to break that habit of yours" Akio replied "It's too obvious"

Kakashi snorted but didn't comment any further.

"Explain summoning to me" Akio ordered again "I don't like repeating myself, this is your last chance"

"Fine" Kakashi grumbled as the sheer craziness of Akio's request "You sign a contract with an animal, you do the seals, the animal comes to you, simple enough"

"What about teleportation?" Akio asked

Kakashi groaned yet answered all the same "You do the seals and attempt to make your body jump at a high speed. Like when you jump and enemy, your incredibly fast, faster than in a normal fight. That's because you collect chakra for a single boost. It's the same with teleportation although you require seals to jump long distances."

"Can you do that for vast distances?" Akio asked

"How vast do you mean by vast?" Kakashi asked

"The under haven" Akio said stoically as if it was a normal thing

Kakashi was confused. He stared at Akio making sure he was serious. Finding out that Akio was waiting for his answer, Kakashi hesitated yet answered none the less.

"Umm… I don't think anybody can…" Kakashi answered perplexed

"I can" Akio stated. When Kakashi didn't answer, Akio attempted to explain.

"It's simple, you can summon Kioshi, she can summon you, correct?" Akio began

"Yeah" Kakashi answered waiting for Akio to get on with it.

"Once you are closely connected, you can send signals to Kioshi to summon you" Akio explained

"So you can't teleport that far, it just seems that way" Kakashi smirked

Akio hit him on the head "I am teaching you a useful skill and you try to make fun of me?"

Kakashi chuckled nervously while rubbing the sore area. Akio disappeared and Kakashi soon found himself in the under haven.

"Good morning. Tsubasa sama" Akio greeted where as Kakashi simply bowed

"You are late, Akio" Tsubasa reprimanded

"Well you see, the idiot beside me has trouble with time management" Akio replied

Tsubasa in turn looked at Kakashi with an amused glint in his eye

"Actually, the hot water broke and I couldn't take a shower this morning" Kakashi apologized "I waited for the water for twenty minutes before I realized the trouble, it won't happen again"

Ryuu laughed wehile the others were debating whether it was true or not.

"You explained it to him?" Tsubasa went back to the matter at hand

"Yes" Akio nodded "All that's left is for them to form a connection"

"And how do we do that?" asked Kioshi

"It's rather simple actually" Tsubasa answered "Combined Jutsu"

"So it'l like learning two techniques at once" Kakashi summarized

"Exactly" Tsubasa smiled "I knew you were intelligent"

Kakashi thanked him briskly while Akio moved on

"What we will teach you is a fire blast" Akio informed them "In our situation, Ryuu forms the fire and I add the wind. However, since Kakashi doesn't have a wind affinity, he will form the fire and Kioshi will add the fire"

"Wouldn't that be weaker?" Kioshi asked "A dragon's fire is way more strong than a human fire"

"True" Akio nodded "However, you have the dragon gust to increase Kakashi's fire ten folds, where as I can only make them thrice the power"

"My fire isn't that weak" Kakashi muttered silently. Kioshi heard him but decided to ignore it

"You both need to muster enough chakra for the technique, form the seals beforehand but do NOT execute the jutsu. Once you sense Kakashi's flame beginning to form, you need to immediately add the wind. Mind you, if you use to much wind before Kakashi's jutsu is ready, the fire will disappear"

"Don't use it to early since the fire will disappear and not too late for it not to have a good effect" Kioshi muttered "Got it"

"And I simply execute the jutsu?" Kakashi asked

"Yeah" Akio smiled "The fire gets the easy go on this jutsu"

"So let's start already" Kioshi complained as she dragged Kakashi to a cliff away from any population as in not to harm anybody. Kakahsi jumped on her back.

"You ready?" he asked as he prepared the seals

"Yup!" Kioshi answered then started to concentrate hard. Kakashi formed the fire and Kioshi immediately blew some wind into it. The fire settled into a pathetic spark.

"Not too quickly" Kakashi told her

"I know" she growled "Got excited that's all"

Kakashi did the seals again yet this time Kioshi waited a bit to long before adding the gust of wind. The fire stayed the same, neither getting stronger, nor diminishing.

"DAMN IT!" she snapped

"It's fine" Kakashi reassured her "It's only your second try.

By noon Akio kept hearing the same things over and over

IT's not working!

It's fine really

Not it's not, Kakashi!

Calm down

DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! I AM CALM

Kakashi was getting frustrated that it is taking so long, although he told Kioshi otherwise. He was used to mastering thing very quickly, yet apparently Kioshi was like Naruto. Determined and incredibly powerful yet needed time to grasp things. I guess things make up for other things.

By the end of the day Kioshi and Kakashi finally mastered it.

"Finally did it?" Ryuu smirked at the two

"Shut up before I dismember you!" Kioshi shrieked and flew away

Akio hopped down and smiled a Kakashi "Not used to things out of your control, huh?"

"Not in the slightest" Kakashi sighed while running a hand through his hair. Akio reminded him of his habit yet again.

"If you keep this attitude up you won't form the connection, you need to be able to synchronize with Kioshi" Akio scolded him as they sat down next to a lake

"She's gonna kill me tomorrow" Kakashi informed Akio

"Why's that?" Akio asked

"Tomrrow you are teaching us another combined justu, although this time im the one that has to time it, right?" Kakashi asked

"Yes" Akio nodded "I'm teaching you mud jutsu and she is the one with the earth affinity"

"If I master it faster than she does, she'll get angry" Kakashi noted

"I'm sure she won't" Akio reassured him "You're over thinking things like usual"

"Hmm" Kakashi replied "So when are we going back?"

Akio nodded and teleported home taking Kakashi with him. They started walking through the park for no reason

"Can I ask you a question?" Kakashi asked

Akio nodded

"Were you a Konoha shinobi?" Kakashi asked

"I was" Akio nodded "Until I started the dragon riders"

"Why's that?" Kakashi asked

"Because the dragon riders were ninja from various nations and cities and we attacked anybody who was causing problems. It would've been difficult to remain in Konoha when I killed some of my allies. However, it was for the good of all" Akio explained

"Must have been difficult" Kakashi mused

"My turn to ask you?" Akio smiled

"What's this, a series of ask twenty questions?" Kakashi asked

"Maybe" Akio joked "But If I know more about you it might be easier for me to understand your complex lazy perverted mind"

"Very funny" Kakashi mumbled

"Who was your sensei?" he asked

"Nimakze Minato" Kakashi answered, the name weird on his lips.

"Oh the fourth" Akio smiled "Must have been a man of great patience to put up with you"

Kakashi chuckled "You have no idea". He thought of the many times he and Obito fought, How many times Kakashi trained by himself causing Minato to freak, the attitude he had of life, being closed up and his sensei trying to make him open up and become more of a child and many other situations.

"I can only imagine" Akio smirked "How was your childhood?"

"That's not relevant to anything what so ever" Kakashi replied hastily

"How come? A childhood shapes up a person" Akio demanded

"Not important" Kakashi was obstante.

Akkio dropped the subject for now hoping to get the information from Jiraya later. "Tomorrow I will only take you to the dragon world and leave you to train with Tsubasa"

"Why's that?" Kakashi asked

"You're not a child, you can train by yourself" Akio reprimanded

"That's not what I meant" Kakashi growled "You were always there, so why stop now?"

"Two reasons" Akio replied "One, you can take of yourself in the dragon world. Two, Jiraya and I need to plan a strategy to take on Akatsuki in a week"

"That soon?" Kakashi asked

"Now's better than later" Akio answered "Besides we are ready"

"I guess" Kakashi mumbled

"A lot of Konoha shinobi will accompany us" Akio smiled "And some from Suna and the lightning capital"

"How did you get the lightning nation to help?" Kakashi asked confused

"They have their own jinchuriki they need to protect as well" Akio answered

"The eight tails" Kakashi remembered

"Well see you tomorrow" Akio said as they reached the end of the park

"Ya" Kakashi mumbled and teleported away


	26. Chapter 26

**A lot of seriousness has been going on and I decided to lighten it up a bit. A little Kakashi torture is in store *smirks evilly* Back to the story**

After Kakashi ate breakfast and got dressed he went to meet Akio. Once he closed the door he remembered that Akio n ever told him where to meet him. Kakashi went back into the house and lay down on the couch reading a bit of Icha Icha.

Three minutes passed before Akio puffed into his living room. Kakashi got up book still in hand and greeted Akio with his traditional 'Yo'. Akio, however, glared at him and tore the book away from his grasp.

"That's not fair" Kakashi mumbled "I was waiting for you tpo arrive and decided to pass the time reading"

"If I see these books in your hand in my presence they will mysteriously vanish or burn" Akio said disdainfully

Kakashi muttered about Akio minding his own business while Akio summoned him to the under haven.

"I leave him with you, Tsubasa" Akio smiled and mumbled something that sounded like good luck before disappearing again

"Good morning, Kakashi" the elder smiled down on him motioning for him to sit down on some straw beds "Kioshi might be a bit late"

Kakashi nodded in understanding and sat down.

"So how are we going to do this?" Akio asked

"There are currently five Akatsuki members left" Jiraya informed him

"Only?" Akio replied in shock

Jiraya nodded while staring outside his apartment window "They are Deidara, Itachi, Kisame, Zetsu and Tobi –whom I believe is actually Uchiha Madara in disguise"

"What makes you say that?" Akio asked

"I believe the Kyubi was under control when he attacked 16 years ago and the only person known to have ever controlled the beast was Uchiha Madara" Jiraya answered

"It is a bit farfetched" Akio mused yet went with Jiraya on it. Besides, Jiraya was notoriously known for getting hidden information.

"Another reason is that Konan told us Pain was collaborating with the orange masked Akatsuki, who is currently known as the idiot Tobi"

"So it's a ruse" Akio summarized

"Ahh, and he's probably very powerful which is why you and I will deal with him." Jiraya nodded

"Alright, so that leaves us with four" Akio replied

"Kakashi will probably be the best candidate to take on Itachi" Jiraya continued "Since they both have the sharingan"

"Ahh, and we should probably have somebody fight with him" Akio nodded

"I trust Genma to be the ideal back up for Kakashi since they were on the same ANBU team" Jiraya nodded

"Alright what about Deidra?" Akio asked

"The sand squad will take care of him, he was the one who kidnapped their kazekage a few months back and want to settle the score themselves." Jiraya informed him

"And Kisame?" Akio asked

"Maito Gai has fought Kisame on two occasions so we will let him deal with him with Raido and Anko as backup." Jiraya decided

"That will leave Zetsu for the lightening squad" Akio summarized

"Exactly" Jiraya nodded

"Sounds like a doable plan" Akio agreed

"Then lets form our allies" Jiraya suggested "They might want to back up some others as well giving us an even bigger advantage"

While Akio and Jiraya discussed the plan and finalized it, four hours had passes. Kakashi was already on his third collaboration jutsu with Kioshi who was getting angrier by the minute

They already knew the mud jutsu which helped trap opponents, a water blast jutsu which could destroy lots of grounds, and were currently working on a lightning shower.

That was a hard jutsu since Kakashi needed to create the rain while Kioshi created a wind barrier after wards that would protect them. She already knew how to do that ages ago so she was simply waiting for Kakashi to succeed.

Kioshi wasn't really upset with Kakashi, yet annoyed that he picked things up rather quickly. He really was a genius and she was a bit dense. So she didn't understand a few complex fancy words, didn't mean she wasn't smart.

Kakashi was currently sitting under a tree trying his best to make rain let alone add lighting. Tsuabasa sama was lecturing him on the jutsu while Kakashi tried repeatedly yet failing.

She felt better knowing that Kakashi was finally having a difficult time with something, although she knew if the roles were reversed, she wouldn't have a chance at creating rain.

Tsubasa didn't even think about teaching Kakashi such a complex jutsu , a secret from their clan only few mastered, but when he saw how smart Kakashi was, he decided to see how far he will go.

Kioshi knew he wouldn't succeed since he needed loads of chakra, in fact, the chakra of a dragon. That or tons of people executing the same jutsu together.

Then she remembered he had unlimited chakra due to the nature chakra he collected.

In short, Kakashi was learning an incredibly difficult jutsu. Kioshi was excused and left to do other things with her free time.

"Kakashi you need to release your chakra into the air then transform it into water droplets" Tsubasa counseled him. Like with the fire ball jutsu, you wait until the chakra is in front of your mask before you add the element to it""

Kakashi nodded and sat in a meditative position trying to release the nature chakra e collected. So far he could only make small traces of water vapor. By time night fall crept by Kakashi could only make it rain two meters from himself.

Akio arrived and was surprised at what Kakashi was trying to master. What annoyed him was that Kakashi wasn't pleased with his achievement.

It reminded him of a fellow dragon rider who was such a genius to the extent in which he wasn't used to slow progress so complained instead.

"Kakashi, we're going home!" Akio called out to him.

Kakashi nodded and stood up stretching his muscles a bit due to stiffness. Bidding Tsubasa a good night, they both disappeared.

When they reappeared in the human world, Kakashi found himself in Jiraya's old apartment.

"Been ages since I've last been here" Kakashi smiled fondly "Didn't know Jiraya still owned it"

Akio smiled as he sat down on the couch "He never put it up for sale"

Kakashi joined him. "Where is Jiraya?"

"Discussing the plan with our allies" Akio informed him "How was training?"

"We learned two new collaboration jutsus and in way for third" Kakashi replied emotionlessly

"You know that rain jutsu could take years" Akio noted

"Hmm, I'll have it mastered before we leave to our fight with Akatsuki" Kakashi mumbled

"You don't need to learn everything so quickly, some things need time" Akio scolded

"Time we don't have" Kakashi noted

"No, we do" Akio replied angrily, screaming down at Kakashi "The success of this mission doesn't depend on this jutsu, especially since you might endanger your allies with such a jutsu. Stop acting like a brat!"

Kakashi was taken aback. Akio never yelled like that. Kakashi simply looked away and out the window.

Akio was still glaring at him, angry that Kakashi was acting this way. Did he really think that training came easily. Look at Jiraya, he was an idiot at first and now he is one of the strongest ninja's in the world.

"May I leave now, or is there a reason for keeping me here?" Kakashi asked stoically

"Stay here" Akio ordered "We are waiting for Jiraya"

Five minutes later Jiraya came in, Naruto by his side.

"He have ramen!" he stated happily. His smiled faded when he felt the tension in the room

"Is everything alright?" Jiraya asked as he and Naruto joined them, placing the ramen on the table

"Just great" Kakashi mumbled while Akio narrowed his eyes.

"Doesn't look like it" Jiraya noted out loud as he served the ramen.

Naruto ate it slowly, curious as to what happened. Kakashi simple stared at his meal.

"I'll say it again," Kakashi said "Is there a valid reason for me to stay or can I just leave"

"Stop acting like idiots" Jiraya stated furiously "We have a major fight coming up and you must have a clear head"

"We're fine, just a misunderstanding" Akio said

Jiraya raised an eyebrow "Then deal with it right now"

"He won't listen to me, maybe he will to you" Akio informed him

"What is it?" Jiraya asked while Kakashi simply sat silently

"He's trying to kill himself learning skills" Akio said

"I remember you being angry because I wanted to master the rain jutsu soon" Kakashi noted "Which is it?'

"You think every jutsu needs to be learned in a matter of hours" Akio reminded him

"Ahh yes, the genius syndrome" Jiraya chuckled

"Genius syndrome?" Naruto asked confused. Kakashi looked just as confused.

"Orochimaru had it too" Jiraya smiled "You are used to picking up things so quickly that when something takes time, you get angry at yourself"

"That's stupid" Naruto said staring at his sensei.

"Am I right, Kakashi?' Jiraya smirked at his discomfort

"Maybe" Kakashi mumbled in a low voice

Jiraya laughed loudly ruffling Kakashi's hair who glowered in annoyance. Akio was smirking beside him trying to contain his own laughter where as Kakashi was trying to disappear.

Naruto smirked at his sensei's apparent discomfort

"What's wrong sensei?" Naruto asked smiling

Kakashi glared at him which made Naruto smile even more.

"You need to get over it" Jiraya commented

"Alright I get it!" Kakashi growled in frustration "We are here because?"

"I thought it would be nice to hang out just in case things don't work out" Jiraya said

"What?" Naruto yelled "That won't happen, you guys are the strongest shinobi ever"

"So are the Akatsuki" Kakashi stated

"Stop being pessimistic" Naruto glared at him "You can't die"

"Everybody is allowed to die" Akio said "When a person must die, he dies"

"You said that to me" Kakashi noted

"Apparently Konoha got used to peace" Akio said

"What were you afraid of sensei?" Naruto asked.

Before Kakashi could tell him that it wasn't his business Akio answered with a snort "Your death"

Kakashi felt like banging his head on the table but instead was engulfed by Naruto in a hug.

"Naruto… you're crushing me…" Kakashi struggled to breathe

"Sorry" Naruto smiled and rubbed the back of his head

"You even got your student to do that stupid habit of yours" Akio muttered

"I'm going home before you embarrass me further" Kakashi muttered and disappeared

"Never gets old" Jiraya laughed "When he was young his face used to get beat red"

"Hahahahah" Akio laughed "I wish I saw that"


	27. Chapter 27

Kakashi hid behind the nearest poll as mini fireballs whizzed by him at an incredible speed. He had been fighting Itachi for three fourths of an hour and none of them were getting anywhere. He really wanted to call Kioshi but the place was too small for the dragon to be summoned.

Kakashi had been separated from the rest a long time ago and now only Itachi and him lay fighting in the dungeons. Last he saw of the rest was more than half an hour ago and at that time no winner was clear.

Akio and Jiraya had been battling with Uchiha Madara of all people! Who knew he still lived? From where he stood Madara was as fast as his own sensei, although Kakashi would bet that Minato would be stronger in a battle, so Jiraya and Akio had to come with an ingenious plan to simply hit the lunatic.

Gai forgot who Kisame was and although Kisame's face was priceless Kakashi couldn't believe that Gai was that dense at times. However, Gai was being Gai and sometimes it can get more idiotic than that.

Of course that's all Kakashi managed to gather before Itachi fled the scene at which the other Akatsuki members didn't get annoyed by, yet were expecting it. Kakashi knowledgeable that his mission is to kill Itachi ran after him at once with his other teammates who were currently in a coma.

"This is a waste of my time, Kakashi san" Itachi spoke for the first time since they're battle.

Kakashi ignored him and formed some seals "Raging waters!"

Itachi dodged it with ease and started to ready his amaterasu in hopes to conclude his battle. When the flames appeared Kakashi simply sent them to another dimension and soon they were locked into a dangerous dance in mid-air.

"Konoha senpu!" Gai suddenly yelled and attempted to kick Itachi, however, Itachi jumped back right on time. Gai's team soon followed and Itachi was being overwhelmed by the strong forces.

"Sorry we're late Kakashi, the blue guy was tough to beat but my flames of youth managed to overpower his strength and gain us glorious victory!" Gai smiled at Kakashi.

Kakashi simply nodded and soon realized that Itachi was leaving the dungeon for more space to move since it was getting a bit overcrowded with his enemies.

Once they were out in the open Kakashi finally summoned Kioshi. Gai's mouth opened in shock not expecting his rival to have such a move in his arsenal. After a series of combos, Kakashi finally found an opening.

This was it! There was no way Itachi could dodge that. And just as the jutsu was about to hit Itachi a weird demon rose from the ground and stopped his attack.

Kakashi cursed as the demon readied his arrow at Kioshi. Realizing that it'll probably be too fast for Kioshi to dodge, Kakashi ordered her to safety as the arrow hurtled above him. Now what?

As Itachi attacked the Konoha ninja relentlessly, Kakashi formed a kage bunshin and hid immediately. Itachi being busy with the forces, didn't notice the switch. Kakashi snuck behind him and was readying his jutsu.

Last time Kakashi used this was against the gecko like creature, he wasn't sure if he could do it again. Thanks to the nature chakra, Kakashi managed to fight for such a long time. Now was the time to unleash his final attack.

He formed the mini black hole rasengan with great difficulty and although it was still not complete, Kakashi could see it would do a lot of damage. With one last ditch of effort Kakashi threw it at the creature protecting Itachi.

The effect was immediate, a flash lit up the entire area as the wind blew everything in its path. When the wind cleared Itachi lay dead and the ninja around Kakashi rejoiced. Kakashi went to confirm Itachi's death to find him on the brink of death.

"Please…save… Sa…su…ke. Madara.. wants to … to use him." Then Itachi passed away.

Kakashi prayed for the well seasoned shinobi. Although Kakashi heard the wish, Kakashi knew that Sasuke would never listen now, especially that his revenge was taken from him.

Oh well now wasn't the time to dwell on it. Speaking of Madara, Kakashi and Gai ran to join the others in their own fights.

**(It was so hard to kill Itachi but I figured that Sasuke is a bastard and I don't want to give him the satisfaction of gaining his revenge.)**

"Orochimaru sama, the Akatsuki are losing drastically. Although they managed to kill tons of ninja, they were gravely outnumbered." The servant bowed down in respect to his lord.

"Akatsuki are in a battle?" Sasuke asked genuinely surprised

Orochimaru nodded and then addressed his slave "Who has died so far?"

"Kisame of the seven swords men, Diedra and Itachi" he announced rather quickly

"ITACHI ID DEAD!" Sasuke yelled enraged. He grabbed the henchman and throw him across the room. "WHO KILLED HIM?"

"Haa..take Kakashi…" he stuttered shaking with fear

"Kakashi?" Sasuke was surprised but that was soon replaced with anger "I'LL KILL HIM!"

"Then let's go" Orochimaru smiled wickedly "Once the fight is over either side will be tired and we can finish them off"

"As long as I get to kill Kakashi I'm going" Sasuke growled

"Sakura chan, let's go" Naruto whined

"Naruto the Akatsuki are trying to capture you, you can't just go jump in their arms" Sakura scolded for the fifteenth time

"I can't sit here doing nothing when everybody is out there fighting for me" Naruto informed her "Besides the Akatsuki are overwhelmed and won't notice us if we stay hidden, that way we can help. You can heal the injured and I can jump in when things are getting out of hand. Please…"

Sakura sighed yet agreed reluctantly. She already took out Sasori and helped start this war, so why couldn't she sit it out till the end. "But how will we get passed the gate?"

"Leave that to me" Naruto smiled slyly and they bounded away.


	28. Chapter 28

Kakashi was currently watching Jiraya and Akio fight Madara. Gai already joined the fight yet Kakashi was hiding trying to think of a plan.

"Let's go!" a voice ordered from Kakashi's side. It turned out to be a lightening nin group of three, two of whom had already joined the fight.

"You can't get him like you generally would" Kakashi advised him

"My jutsu is extremely fast, it'll do the job before his weird skill can save him" the nin said arrogantly

"It might actually, but we need to lure him" Kakashi decided it would be best to work with him.

"What do you have in mind?" the nin asked apparently willing to work with Kakashi as well even though the two villages never had a strong bond.

"I'll summon my dragon and I'll lure him over that open area" Kakashi pointed to a wide open area with only two trees and a boulder "He won't suspect somebody hiding ready to ambush him in such an open area, you'll jutsu will hit him before he can react"

"Good plan" the nin smirked "Let's do it"

Kakashi nodded and started forming the seals to summon Kioshi while the other nin went over to hide.

As the smoke cleared Kioshi sighed "You just summoned me fifteen minutes ago"

Kakashi smiled idiotically "Hopefully this will be the last but for now I need your help to lure Madara into the open space"

Kioshi raised an eyebrow at the weird location but Kakashi simply waved her off not having the time to explain.

Madara was soon overwhelmed by the opponents, yet he was being forced to an open area in the back. That would be to his advantage as nowbody would be able to hide and he can finish them off rather quickly.

"Now!" Kakashi yelled to Kioshi who sent wind blades at Madara who avoided them and hid behind one of the trees. A yell, a thud, Madara was dead.

"That was surprisingly fast" Kakashi commented as he jumped off of Kioshi to make sure the body was dead along with various other ninja. Madara's head was chopped off. Kakashi suspected a clean cut from a wind jutsu.

Shizune ran over and began examining the body, everybody knew she was Tsunade's apprentice and trusted her judgment.

"Nice teamwork" the lightening ninja came up to Kakashi "My name is Sumo, by the way, Hatake Kakashi."

"Pleasure" Kakashi nodded respectfully "I'm just glad it is over"

"Not really, the ninja named Zetsu managed to get away" Sumo said

"Pretty smart of him knowing when he was cornered" Kakashi mused "If Madara wasn't so cocky he would've managed to get away easily and survive"

"Luckily for us he was arrogant" Sumo smiled

A loud bang was heard and Kakashi immediately found himself blocking somebody's sword. To his surprise it was none other than Sasuke.

"You took away my revenge, Kakashi, and now I'll take your life" Sasuke stated with so much malice Kakashi barely managed to suppress a shudder. All around him Orochimaru's henchmen were fighting his allies. Akio and Jiraya, already tired from their fight with Madara were forced into a battle with Orochimaru.

Kakashi, exhausted, could only dodge Sasuke's punches. However, one of Sasuke's punches landed painfully on Kakashi's shoulders. Kakashi gasped in pain and Sasuke took advantage of that and threw more punches Kakashi's way.

"He wants to beat me to death" Kakashi realized as his back smashed into the wall behind him and Sasuke put all his strength in a punch right in Kakashi's gut.

Kakashi doubled over in pain and started coughing. But Sasuke didn't give him time to recuperate and grasped him from his neck and smashed him in to the wall choking him to death.

"You'll pay for killing him" Sasuke spat. While Sasuke was choking Kakashi he removed his mask. "I want you to die uncomfortably, I want you to be begging for death"

"Rasengan!" a voice yelled and Sasuke moved just in time as Kakashi slumped to the floor gasping for air.

"Sensei!" Sakura was next to him already laying him down to examine him. Kakashi felt himself losing his conscious slowly and did everything in his power to prevent it.

Sakura took of his torso and began to examine his wounds. She noticed patches of burnt skin here and there, nothing too serious. Some cuts also decorated his chest and his back, a few bruises were scattered along his chest. One nasty bruise was tinted with blue, violet and red.

She noticed immediately that it was inner bleeding and began to work on it. Kakashi, like usual, was stubbornly trying to get up.

"Relax, sensei" Sakura chided him gently "Leave Sasuke to Naruto". When Kakashi focused his attention on her she realized how tired he must be.

A light blush crept up her face when she finally realized he wasn't wearing his mask. 'He's handsome, I wonder why he wears that thing anyway' she thought

While she was healing him she noticed that he was fighting sleep and she smiled sympathetically.

"I need to get him out of here" she murmured. She managed to stop the inner bleeding, but even so, Kakashi was in no condition to fight.

"Get out of the way, Naruto" Sasuke glared at Naruto "This is none of your business"

"You are hurting those precious to me" Naruto snarled taking a step forward, holding his ground "You made it my business"

"So the only way I'll get to Kakashi is by killing you" Sasuke smirked and drew his sword with startling speed "Shouldn't be too hard"

Naruto simply glared yet inside he was hurting. What happened to Sasuke?

"Sensei we need to get out of here" she ordered him "You are in no condition to fight and if somebody attacks, I might be too overwhelmed to protect you"

Kakashi nodded gruffly and got up slowly, she held him by the waist to support him and bounded off.

Sasuke and Naruto were in the heat of battle when Sasuke noticed Sakura running away with Kakashi. 'Looks like I don't have time to bother with the idiot' he thought as he dodged a shuriken that was lamely tossed at him.

Sasuke followed them with Naruto in pursuit of him. Gai noticed that twist as he killed of another of Orochimaru's henchmen.

"Go after them" Genma told Gai who wasted no time in following them.


	29. Chapter 29

Sakura finally found a place where she can allow Kakashi sensei to sleep. A hollow carved into a tree. It reminded her of the chunin exams when both Naruto and Sasuke were unconscious. She took a glance at Kakashi as she led him inside, his eyes were opening and closing constantly.

"Sensei, you should sit down while I prepare some sort of makeshift place for you to sleep on" Sakura stated while she gently lay Kakashi down

"What are you doing here?" Kakashi asked, tiredness dominating his speech.

"Naruto was worried one of you guys might need help" Sakura answered then stared at her sensei "and he was right"

At Kakashi's puff of annoyance she laughed whole heartedly. "Come on get some rest" she ordered "you look like you are about to fall over soon"

"Hai, hai" Kakashi muttered as he laid his head down on his own vest Sakura took off earlier.

"Why is Sasuke so bent on killing you?" Sakura asked softly as she handed him a canteen of water

"I killed Itachi" Kakashi said nonchalantly and Sakura's eyes widened while Kakashi gulped down some needed water "At least I think I did"

"I now I'll kill you!" Sasuke yelled in rage yet his way was instantly blocked by Naruto

"Stop it, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled

"Most of my life my goal was to kill him and he took my revenge" Sasuke spat "I'll show him no mercy"

Kakashi tried to stand up yet this time Sakura was too shocked by Sasuke's malice that she didn't notice until he was standing upright

"It was either him or Naruto, Sasuke" Kakashi stated "My intentions weren't to take away your revenge but Naruto's protection, that is MY goal"

"I don't care about your petty beliefs, all I want is your blood" and as the last word escaped his mouth he rushed towards Kakashi

Sakura finally snapped out of it and blocked Sasuke's sword while Naruto attempted to hit him from behind. Sasuke jumped up and went a fireball rushing towards them. Sakura grabbed Kakashi and jumped away.

Naruto jumped upwards and used a bunshin to alter his direction towards Sasuke who was still hovering in mid air. Naruto threw his punch at Sasuke who grabbed it as they collided into a wall.

As Naruto and Sasuke jumped away from each other, Gai suddenly appared and attempted to kick him with a lotus from above. Yet Gai was also tired from today's battles and was too slow. Sasuke dived out of the way as Gai's foot landed hard into the ground below.

"My my this is getting a little crowded, don't you think?" Kabuto sneered as he emerged from the shadow

"Why do you want you little sneak?" Naruto growled

"As much as I'd love to fight you, we have wasted enough time here today" Kabuto smiled maliciously fixing his glasses

"I'm not leaving" Sasuke snarled getting the message

"Unfortunately we must, Lord Orochimaru is waiting and he is in quite a bad mood" Kabuto said still smiling

As much as Naruto wanted to prevent the, from escaping and fight Sasuke, yet one glimpse at Kakashi unconscious in Sakura's arms let him realize that it would be better to avoid trouble for now

"This is not over!" Sasuke roared "I'll kill Kakashi soon, mark my words" and then they both disappeared

Naruto and Gai immediately rushed towards Sakura as she laid down her sensei gently on the ground

"Is he alright?" Naruto asked

"He's fine," Sakura smiled "Although he's going to be in bed for a quite a while to relax"

Gai nodded and leaned down to take Kakashi.

"Let's go to Konoha" Gai ordered once he was sure Kakashi wouldn't fall off

"The sooner the better" Sakura agreed

Naruto was sitting in the hospital's waiting room watching injured shinobi go into various treatments due to their battle with the Akatsuki. All because of him and that just sickened him.

"You seem a little down, Naruto"

Naruto whipped around towards the familiar voice and smiled "Pervy sage!"

Jiraya's eyebrow twitched at the nickname "How many times have I told you not to call me that!"

Naruto simply laughed as Jiraya sat down beside him

"I'm glad you're ok" Naruto said

"The biggest part is over" Jiraya sighed in relief "But Orochimaru escaped"

"You'll get him next time" Naruto smiled

Jiraya chuckled "So why were you so upset back there?"

"All these people… they're hurt just to.. protect me" Naruto mumbled "It feels wrong"

"Naruto I think the villager's accept you as a Konoha shinobi and we fight for our comrades" Jiraya smiled "Besides I think we can both agree that Akatsuki is everybody's enemy, danger to all"

"I guess so" Naruto smiled "What about your dragon trainer friend? Is he alright?"

"Yeah he's fine that tough old bird," Jiraya chuckled "he's in Kakashi's room right now"

"Oh yeah, he's Kakashi's master right?" Naruto asked

"I guess you can say that" Jiraya replied as they walked down towards Kakashi's room as well

"Isn't it a bit too late for a master?" Naruto inquired

"Nonsense" Jiraya retorted "You can always learn something new, especially from one of the best"

"I just didn't think Kakashi sensei would be the type to have a master" Naruto laughed

"You know he only did it to protect you" Jiraya said "Usually I wouldn't have told you but you're mature now, you should know"

"For me?" Naruto asked

"Yeah but Kakashi ended up with a dragon so he can't complain at all" Jiraya laughed "One day when you get students of your own, you'll understand"

"Naruto!" Sakura smiled as she ran towards the two

"Sakura chan" Naruto smiled "Guess you're helping Old granny Tsunade with the imjured?" he asked noticing the clipboard

"I've been running around all day" Sakura smiled tiredly "Are you here to see Kakashi sensei?"

"Yeah we were just heading up" Naruto smiled

"I'll see you around" she smiled "Bye Jiraya sama" and she dashed away

As they neared Kakashi's room they heard some yelling. Naruto fearing the worst barged only to find Akio yelling at Kakashi

"You scared me half to death! Do you call that stamina! ….."

"Um Akio" Jiraya entered amused "this is a hospital"

Akio in turn glared at Jiraya who smiled at him sheepishly. "So Kakashi how are you feeling?" he asked to change the subject

Kakashi was sitting upright in his bed and answered with a lazy wave "Just fine"

Akio was still muttering at the side who was soon joined by Jiraya

"So now you're Sasuke's target" Naruto noted as he sat down on a chair next to Kakashi's bed

"Guess so" Kakashi sighed

"Makes it harder to get him back but I still won't give up" Naruto declared

Kakashi gave his traditional eye curve in reply

"We need to get going" Jiraya announced "Don't forget to write a report about what happened soon, Kakashi"

"I don't think our conversation is over because I was just getting started about how idiotic you can be" Akio glared and they soon disappeared

"I really hate them sometimes" Kakashi muttered while Naruto laughed.


	30. Chapter 30

**Sorry for such a late update however I just finished my junior year and as most of you know it is the most important year. I had APs SATs ACTs projects and tests and grades are my top priority right now. Again I am sorry and thank you all for your patience and without further delay let's start Ch 30!**

It's been days since the major fight between the world and Akatsuki reached its close. Zetsu hasn't been found yet ,however, the Kages were all sending out search parties. And to everyone's pleasure, a festival was being held in the Lighting Country to celebrate the new trinity treaty between the Leaf, Lightning and Sand, the three countries that destroyed the notorious Akatsuki.

Naruto was sitting in front of the memorial stone staring at the names of the people who died fighting the Akatsuki. Out of all of them he only knew Asuma sensei on a personal level and for that he was thankful.

"Naruto! What are you doing here?" A voice laced with surprise asked as he approached

"You're not the only one who prays for the dead, Kakashi sensei" Naruto retorted calmly

"That's not what I meant," Kakashi chuckled as he sat down too "You alright?"

"It's just that…" Naruto began "Many people died to protect me in some sense and… Ero senein already told me Akatsuki were dangerous to everybody and this war would have been fought eventually… but still…"

"Naruto you are a Konoha Shinobi and regardless of what you think the villagers and other ninjas think of you, you are still part of this village and we all protect each other." Kakashi answered "Besides, I've seen the progression as to how people treat and see you and let me tell you they worry about you and recognize your achievements."

"Really?" Naruto asked astonished

Kakashi smiled and ruffled his hair "Do I ever lie?"

"Practically every day when you're late" Naruto smirked

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"Sensei, there's been something I've always wondered about" Naruto turned to face him "Who do you come to pray for everyday? They're obviously very important to you if you stand in front 'of here for hours a day. I know its personal and you don't have to answer, but…"

"My team when I myself was young" Kakashi whispered "Uchiha Obito, Yahshuki Rin and Minato sensei."

"Uchiha?" Naruto exclaimed "Then… you're sharingan…?"

Kakashi simply nodded. Naruto grew quiet again, he didn't know what he'd do if Sakura chan, Sasuke teme and Kakashi were all dead, although Sasuke is on a revenge rampage.

"I will bring Sasuke back" Naruto said voice full of determination as he looked up at the sky "Then we'll all be a team again"

Kakashi smiled "I don't doubt that for a minute"

"Well then, I'm going to go have some ramen and then train, sensei" Naruto said as he stood up "Thank you for everything" and with that he ran towards the village

"He's very interesting" Akio noted as approached Kakashi

"Unlike you" Kakashi replied calmly as he stood up as well

Akio glared at Kakashi who was pretending to be interested in the clouds above

"Stop cloud gazing and let's go" Akio growled

"Go where?" Kakashi asked as he fell in step with Akio "Under haven?"

"No" Akio responded yet gave no further response

Kakashi sighed at his master's attitude, he hates not knowing. Maybe next time he'll wait till he knows what Akio wants then jab at him

"Have you been training?" Akio asked

"With what exactly?" Kakashi replied as they started entered a training ground

"Anything at all" Akio said

"Well… kinda" Kakashi answered feebly

Akio's eye twitched in frustration at his pupil yet calmed down and inquired further

"Well I practiced gathering nature chakra while sparring with Gai and that highly trained my muscles and improved my taijutsu skills" he answered

"How many times did you spar?" Akio halted and stared into Kakashi's eyes electing a mental gulp in said person's mind

"Once" Kakashi replied weakly making sure not rub his neck. "I wanted to relax a bit is that a crime?" Kakashi asked once he sense fireworks beginning to explode

"YOU IDIOT!" Akio yelled hitting him hard on the head "OF ALL THE LAZY THINGS YOU ARE BY FAR MOST THE WORST EVER! EVEN A SLOUTH IS MORE ACTIVE!"

Kakashi who was now rubbing his sore head winced at the sheer magnitude and anger in Akio's voice

"IF YOU HAVEN'T REALIZED THE SIGNIFICANCE OF YOU BECOMING A DRAGON RIDER AND DON'T ACT UPON YOUR RESPONSIBILITY IN CONTINUING MY LEGACY THEN QUIT NOW. I DON'T HAVE TIME TO WASTE!"

Kakashi simply retreated a step back and avoided Akio's gaze

"THIS ISN'T A GAME! IF YOU WANT A BREAK FINE GO AND ENJOY YOURSELF I LOST MY INTRREST IN TRAINNG YOU TODAY!" Akio screamed

Not knowing what to say, Kakashi simply stood in front of him keeping his mouth shout waiting for Akio to finish his rant

Akio did not accepting his silent "Well?" he asked after calming down a bit

Kakashi bit his lip while attempting to find the proper reply, "I do understand… I'm sorry for not training as you had hoped and I assure I'll work twice as hard."

"You need to decide now whether you want to train under me just because Jiraya called for it so you can have a higher chance of fighting the Akatsuki or whether you really want me as your master. Jiraya told me you were hesitant in the beginning yet I thought you were committed. We'll meet back here tomorrow and if you are willing to accept the fact that I am your master and you want to carry on the dragon rider legacy, then come. Otherwise, don't bother" and with that Akio disappeared

Kakashi sighed loudly and sat under a tree. Akio really took that the wrong way. Kakashi really did want to train and was committed, he just wanted to relax a bit. So maybe he wasn't a work alcoholic doesn't mean he is not willing.

Yet now he knows that this will only work if he's going to train till his feet bled and adopt Akio's way of the ninja as they say. Kakashi really does have a connection with Akio and he believes that he can trust him implicitly. Now to make Akio see that.

_  
It was morning of the next day and Kakashi arrived early waiting for Akio to come. He was surprised to find himself scared that Akio would not show up and that he blew his chance. However, Akio did show up and was not entirely happy from what Kakashi could tell.

Akio quickly jumped to the chase not even bothering with greetings "Your decision?"

"I'm going to inherit your legacy, both in relation to the under haven and your way of the ninja. You are my master and I will follow you anywhere" Kakashi stated. Although short, it had its effect, besides Kakashi was a man of few words in such occasions.

Akio smiled "Well then, if you're going to become my pupil, better make you into a ninja that wouldn't embarrass me"

"Can't you go for one day without harassing me?" Kakashi asked in disbelief although he was actually very relieved and full of joy

A SEQUEL WILL BE COMING UP CALLED "A Legend in the Making" SO STAY TUNED!


End file.
